Preferred housing attributes by participants of Malaysia my second home

Abstract

The lucrative market of foreign second homers attracts Malaysian developers to target participants of Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) in their housing projects. However, the inability to satisfy second homers’ preferred housing attributes could lead to the failure of MM2H targeted housing projects for there are differences between second homers’ needs and developers’ offers. There is a need to study the housing preferences of participants in MM2H in order to help developers to deliver better and favourable housing projects for them. The first objective of this study is to characterize housing attributes in the second home market. The second objective is to identify housing attributes preferred by the participants of MM2H. This is then followed with a profiling of the preferred housing attributes by the participants of MM2H from various countries. The research methodology consists of six stages, including a literature review, identification of the data source, a research instrument, data collection, data analysis, validation and recommendations. The questionnnaire survey was conducted among licensed and active MM2H agents. A total of 41 respondents participated in the study. They provided a better overview of MM2H participants’s preferences in selecting their second home. An analysis of frequency and analysis of variance was conducted on the collected data. The findings revealed that housing price and cost of living are the two most important elements in purchasing a second home. The findings also revealed that condominiums, gated and guarded communities, a secure and quality environment, green scenery and a swimming pool are the common features preferred by MM2H participants. Accordingly, Cluster Townhouse is the least favourable design by MM2H participants whereas the condominium is the most favourable. The results obtained were used to profile the MM2H participants’ preferred housing attributes. The profile serves as a good reference for developers in their planning and targeting of buyers in the second home market.