AIAIG Overseas Property Investment Weekly Report: 2026 Week 2 (Part 1) - Key...

The recommended approach for reading policies in the second week of 2026 is to start from the 'implementation level':

• Effective Nodes: January is often the time when tax and regulatory adjustments truly take effect (the most typical example is the foreign buyer stamp duty on residential properties in Malaysia).
• Compliance Standards: Regulators may not immediately restrict transactions, but they will incorporate them into clearer reporting and data systems (e.g., transparency in foreign home purchases in Japan).
• Service Efficiency: Reducing friction costs through digitalization and standardized processes (e.g., service-oriented rental registration and mortgage/pledge procedures in Dubai).

AIAIG Perspective: For cross-border buyers, the value of the weekly report at the beginning of the year lies not in 'whether stimulus policies can drive up prices,' but in 'what materials you need to complete, what additional costs you must bear, and which compliance pitfalls to avoid.'

Japan's key changes still revolve around 'transparency in foreign property purchases'. For overseas buyers, the essence is two things:

1. Expansion of reporting scope: Moving from 'only investment purposes require reporting' to 'including residential purchases also being incorporated into reporting', to more comprehensively grasp foreign participation and speculative transaction risks.

2. Improvement of registration information (nationality disclosure): Requiring the provision of passports or other nationality proofs during the ownership registration process (directional measures), to provide underlying data for subsequent statistics and policy design.

AIAIG perspective: This is not a one-size-fits-all 'purchase ban', but a typical 'first data-driven, then differentiated' approach. The most realistic short-term impact is not 'cannot buy', but:

• Documentation preparation needs to be more upfront (consistency of identity information, explanation of fund sources, proof of residence/nationality)
• Transactions are incorporated into a more systematic statistical and review framework (especially in hotspot areas and high-value assets)
• Tolerance for 'frequent transactions/short-term flipping' decreases (even if rules do not explicitly 'prohibit', practical friction will significantly increase)

Singapore's early-year policy signals often rely not on slogans, but on 'official data anchors' to set the tone for the market.

The two most useful types of official information for foreign investment and cross-border allocation this week:

• HDB Resale Market: The official release of the 2025Q4 Resale Price Index (RPI) flash report and supply arrangements, used to gauge the heat and policy pressure in the public housing resale market.
• URA Private Residential Market: The release of the 2025Q4 private residential price index flash report, providing an authoritative benchmark for private housing price trends and annual growth rates.

AIAIG Perspective: Singapore remains in a long-term framework of 'housing priority, suppressing short-term speculation'. For overseas buyers, any trading opportunity must first pass through the filter of policies and taxes; therefore, it is more important to focus on official data and supply rhythms, rather than being driven by short-term sentiment.

The most critical change for foreign buyers in Malaysia this week is that the adjustment of stamp duty for foreign purchases of residential properties will take effect/be implemented from 2026-01-01 (different sources of interpretation may involve details of the tax rate structure).

For overseas buyers, the impact path of such policies is very direct:

• Increased purchase costs: Under the same rental and price expectations, net returns are compressed, and project selection will become more polarized.
• Transactions rely more on 'discounts and product strength': High-quality assets are better able to absorb costs, while average assets need to offer more concessions.
• Investment strategies lean more towards the long term: High tax environments are inherently unfriendly to short-term frequent trading.

AIAIG perspective: Malaysia can still be a 'cash flow market', but from 2026 onwards, you must treat stamp duty as a 'hard cost', factoring it into the ROI model upfront, and not wait until the last moment of the transaction to discover that the cost structure has changed.

Thailand did not implement a 'nationwide major relaxation for foreign investment' at the beginning of the year, but the low transaction fee policy remains a background market variable: the reduction of transfer and mortgage registration fees to 0.01% continues to be effective within the established timeframe.

The key point is: many preferential conditions are targeted at Thai citizens and specific price ranges, and foreign investors may not directly benefit.

AIAIG's perspective: For foreign investors, the positive aspects of Thailand's policies are more reflected in 'improving local transaction volume and liquidity,' rather than how much tax you personally can save. When investing in Thai assets, it is more important to focus on:

• Sector rental demand (tourism/employment/education)
• Holding structure (condominium ownership, legal long-term arrangements)
• Contracts and compliance (especially avoiding any non-compliant proxy holding/nominal arrangements)

Vietnam's policy narrative at the beginning of the year focused on two points:

• Through directives and coordination mechanisms, promote the removal of project obstacles (unblocking) to release compliant supply.
• Expectations for increased supply of affordable and social housing have risen.

AIAIG View: The opportunity in Vietnam is more like a 'compliant supply release cycle' opportunity, rather than a purely sentiment-driven price cycle. For foreign buyers, verifying project qualifications (approvals, land nature, proportion of units available to foreigners, property rights duration and renewal mechanisms) should be considered the top priority.

Dubai's most 'policy-oriented' move this week actually occurred on the rental side:

• DLD launches Ejari awareness campaign (2026-01-06): Emphasizes rental registration, cancellation, certificate download, rent increase calculation, notice and non-renewal procedures, aiming for higher rental compliance and transparency.

At the same time, Dubai has made the home purchase entry and services more productized:

• First Time Home Buyer entry continues to advance: Connects developers and related support through official channels, emphasizing a smoother home purchase journey.
• Together with previous mortgage digitization and mortgage release service upgrades, it forms an efficiency improvement across the entire chain of 'buying—financing—holding—renting—exiting'.

AIAIG perspective: As the market matures, regulation emphasizes 'process and transparency', which is beneficial for long-term holding and compliant renting; for those relying on information asymmetry and non-standard operations, it means continuous pressure.

1. Malaysia's Foreign Buyer Residential Stamp Duty Adjustment Enters Implementation Phase: Changes in purchase cost structure must be incorporated into models in advance.
2. Japan's Foreign Property Purchase Reporting and Nationality Disclosure Direction Clarified: Compliance requirements for documentation and fund explanations have increased.
3. Singapore's Official Data Anchor Points: HDB and URA flash reports set the tone for the 2026 market pace.
4. Dubai's Rental End Ejari Compliance Advocacy: Rental rules are becoming more transparent and procedures standardized, impacting rental and renewal experiences.
5. Vietnam's Project 'Unblocking' Mechanism Continues: Release of compliant supply is a key variable for 2026.
6. Thailand's Low Transaction Fee Policy Remains a Supportive Background: Primarily improves market liquidity, but foreign buyers need to identify applicable scopes.