On the northern part of Borneo sits Sabah, also known as the land below the wind, owing to its location just below the region in the Philippines, another country, which typhoons frequently occur. The state of Sabah is also the second largest in Malaysia, and the control of the area has passed from the Sultanate of Sulu and back to Malaysia during the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. Sabah is rich in history, culture, and bustling economic activities.

Geography of Sabah

The state of Sabah is quite large, but the western part of the state is composed mostly of mountainous terrain, and is home to the three highest peaks in Malaysia. These mountains range from one thousand going all the way up to four thousand meters in elevation. Mount Kinabalu, generally considered to be the highest peak in Southeast Asia, has an elevation level of four thousand ninety-five meters. These areas are also mostly rainforests, with a World Heritage Site status because of the wide array of plants found in this area. The conditions here are also unique and lead to Sabah’s mountains becoming an attraction in itself.

Sabah’s center portion, going out to the eastern side, has lower average elevation levels, with mostly plains and small hills dominating the landscape. A river runs through the center of the state going all the way through to the Sulu Sea, at over five hundred km in its entirety. The lower portion of the state, namely the central and eastern part, hosts the most number of inhabitants in the state, with over three quarters of the entire state population staying there.

Population Demographics

Sabah is the state with the third highest number of residents in the whole of Malaysia. Over three million call this state home, and Sabah has one of the fastest growing populations anywhere, mainly because aside from the regular inhabitants of the state, there is also a massive inflow of immigrants both legal and illegal coming in from Indonesia and the Philippines, most of them Muslims. The ethnic backgrounds of the people here also vary widely, and the Kadazan-dusun is the most populous in the state, at almost eighteen percent of the total population. The language spoken widely here is Malay, although with a different intonation compared to western Malay. There are also other languages widely spoken here, with Chinese languages like mandarin and Cantonese spoken by many residents.

Economic Background

During the time when lumber was plentiful, the economy of Sabah was based heavily on the lumber and wood industry. Timber exports gave the state plenty of revenue, but now, the economic conditions are slanted more toward palm oil, which, since it is a product of plants, is a renewable resource and more sustainable as a source of income. Rubber products and cacao production are also products from agriculture that have significant impact on the economy of the state. Along with those products, tourism is a heavy contributor to the economy, being second largest in terms of contribution to the state revenues.

During the seventies, Sabah was one of the richest states in the entire country, having lots of natural resources at its disposal, and the second highest GDP in the country. However, the current state of Sabah is one of a huge development focus in the government of Malaysia, with funding allocated toward improving the growth of Sabah through its main cash generators, agriculture, the tourism industry in the state, and manufacturing. Infrastructure improvements could also greatly boost the economy of Sabah, with transportation and utility improvements being able to cope better with the number of people coming in and staying in Sabah. With over twenty-five percent of the land area of Malaysia in Sabah, one could truly understand why this area offers so much potential with an increased pace in development.

Sabah Property Investments

Investing in real estate in Sabah is a good choice for investment because of the fact that it’s a former British colony lends itself well to foreigners for a number of reasons. One would be that the foreign investment-friendly policies makes it easy to acquire properties and the second would be that the documentation and contracts are in English, making the purchasing experience less of a hassle.

Sabah’s property developments are mostly slanted toward the tourism industry, and for the second homes of foreign investors. Plenty of incentives serve as icing on the cake when it comes to these properties, with buyers saving plenty of money during the actual purchase of property. Aside from that, the expected growth for the whole country clocks in at as much as twenty-five percent. Ten percent on rental yields is also not an unusual occurrence with properties in Sabah, mainly due to tourists seeking premium accommodations and willing to pay the price. Resort villas are the typical offering of property developers in Sabah like Sabah Urban Development Corporation, with tourists and those looking for second homes as their primary target market.

Sabah, along with Malaysia in general, has been experiencing high growth rates during the past few years, the national average being six percent GDP growth. Tourism is one of the biggest draws to the state as well as being one of the most lucrative industries, and according to the Sabah Tourism Board, occupancy rates in the state are sitting on seventy-two percent, high by any standard. If you’ll be buying properties in Sabah, now would be a good time to do so as there foreigner-friendly policies let properties be bought freely by non-residents, easy mortgages, and potential yields getting higher and higher. The prices of properties in Sabah are also growing, and with the state economy’s growth along with high tourism increases, your investment could quickly pay for itself in just a short amount of time, with a small outlay and big returns for you. Malaysia’s property market is projected to go up at twenty percent in coming years, so there’s no reason why you should wait it out and let others get ahead of you in investing with property developments in Sabah.