Kuala Lumpur rated most affordable city for prime homes

Malaysian market boasts low luxury residential prices despite relatively rapid capital gains

Luxury home values in Kuala Lumpur are the lowest among 26 major cities tracked by Savills’ new World Cities Prime Residential Index.

In the six months to June, the price of a prime home in Malaysia’s largest city stood at USD260 per square foot, lower than Cape Town with USD330 per sq ft and Dubai with USD600 per sq ft

On the other end of the ranking, Hong Kong had prime homes fetching USD4,730 per sq ft, making it the world’s most expensive market.

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Prime prices in Kuala Lumpur represent a capital gain of 2.4 percent in the six months to June—the fourth fastest among the cities tracked by Savills.

Like Bangkok, which posted a prime home price growth of 2.3 percent in the same period, Kuala Lumpur benefited from international investment as “prices are relatively low on the global stage,” analysts explained.

Several Chinese cities saw an upswing in capital values following falls in the second half of 2018. Beijing, for instance, posted a prime home price growth of 2.9 percent in the year to June 2019, the third fastest in the world after Berlin and Paris with an annual growth of 8.2 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively.

Savills attributed the Chinese rises to a slight loosening of housing restrictions in the mainland amid an economic slowdown.