Young Malaysians going overseas for their degrees usually go to three main countries; Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. Normal students like myself would get a room as accommodation like the rest but there are the richer ones whose parents would get them a property instead.
According to an Article in TheGuardian here, wealthy parents from outside the UK bought about £2bn (RM10.82 billion) of property in London for their children who are enrolled into private schools and universities in the capital. According to Knight Frank, foreign buyers snapped up 2,162 properties valued at a combined £2bn in the year to the end of May, up from £1.65bn in the previous year. Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s head of research, said the properties – which had an average value of £925,000 – were bought to be used as a base while the owners’ children were at schools such as Eton, Westminster and Harrow, or universities in or near the capital. He added, “Our analysis shows just how important the standard of top London schools is to wealthy international individuals, and the demand this contributes to the London property market.”
The demand comes from buyers from China and Hong Kong, followed by those from Singapore, India and Russia. As for how wealthy these parents are, well, there’s an 18-year-old student from China who recently moved into a £5m (RM27 million) TWO-BEDROOM flat in the refurbished Centre Point building. She is studying in University College London. The 117 sq m apartment has panoramic views from the bedroom stretching from the Royal Albert Hall to Wembley Stadium. (With this relaxing view, every student will be able to concentrate on their studies if they stay here. 😛 )
Kathrin Hersel, the property director of Almacantar, Centre Point’s owner said that the parents were attracted to the building because of its location “in the very heart of London” and the high level of security, including a 24-hour concierge, keycard entry and security cameras in every lobby. Those staying there have access to a 30m swimming pool that stretches the length of the building, as well as a gym, sauna, spa and private cinema. The tenants of the affordable flats do not have access to any facilities. Henry Pryor, a luxury property buying agent who’s always tasked to look for properties by rich overseas students said, “An awful lot of people do buy property in London and other academic centres like Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and Leeds, to give their kids a base and have somewhere to stay when they visit. It also gives the parents the option of a good income stream.” Full article in Article in TheGuardian here for reference.
I think we have also noticed that Chinese students (from China) in the local tertiary education scene has grown by leaps and bounds. International students wise, there’s already 172,886 in Malaysia at the start of 2017. This is expected to top 200,000 when 2020 comes. Here’s the article in juwai.com There are already 15,000 mainland Chinese students during the same period. That’s almost 10 percent of all the international students. Perhaps we can see similar trends then? Of course, the major reason for them coming to Malaysia is also because of affordability. UK qualifications at a fraction of the price and studies are all conducted in English which is something the mainland Chinese would appreciate. Look at the image. Malaysia really do represent great value. Anyway, let’s welcome more international students yeah.
written on 16 Sept 2018
Next suggested article: Bangkok has more international visitors than London!
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