Affluent Malaysians have the highest rate of overseas property purchases according to a survey by HSBC.

55% of the Malaysians surveyed purchase property abroad—compared with 45% of mainland Chinese and 44% of people from Hong Kong—and more than one-third of participants own property in Singapore.

At 26 percent, Australia was the next most popular destination, followed by the UK at 14 percent.

The survey found that Malaysians were more likely to purchase Australian property, while affluent buyers from Hong Kong and Taiwan are more apt to look in mainland China. The US and UK were the most popular destinations overall.

The survey had 2,700 participants, including people from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, and India.

The definition of ‘affluent’ varied by country, requiring investible assets of at least USD60,574 for Malaysians; USD82,078 for mainland Chinese; USD158,100 for Singaporeans; USD129,024 for Hong Kongers; USD42,402 for Indonesians; USD98,737 for Taiwanese; and USD40,282 for Indians.