Areas outside of Klang Valley are also gaining traction among potential homebuyers and investors during the period, iProperty said in a statement today.

The three new entrants which made it into iProperty.com.my’s annual top list are Kuching, which ranked sixth with 7.6% of searches; Port Dickson (seventh spot with 7.4% of searches) and Seremban (10th spot with 6.4% of searches).

“Affordability and work flexibility could be the primary drivers for more property seekers looking for housing outside of Klang Valley,” it said.

Nonetheless, iProperty said prime locations such as Petaling Jaya (second place, 13.7% searches), Cheras (third place, 11.6% searches), Shah Alam (ninth place, 6.9% searches) and Johor Bahru (fourth place, 10.3% searches) continued to be in the top 10 list since 2018.

Sheldon Fernandez, country manager of PropertyGuru Malaysia (which owns PropertyGuru.com.my and iProperty.com.my), said more people were considering residential properties in areas located outside the Klang Valley, this year.

“This year, we have three never-seen-before locations (Kuching, Port Dickson and Seremban) that made it into the iProperty.com.my’s annual list, showing that the pandemic has prompted many consumers to rethink where and how they live and work,” he said.

He added that the remote work trend has also enabled consumers to prioritise better living environments to raise children, proximity to family members, and better mental health.

“Looking ahead to 2023, it would be interesting to see if residential properties beyond the prime cities and usual crowd-favourites will continue to gain traction among homebuyers,” he said.