Locational considerations and international Malaysian housing developers

The purpose of this paper is to identify demand‐related factors considered by the sampled Malaysian housing developers in the countries they invested in, and those factors which maligned their investment interest. Additionally, the paper seeks to validate the applicability of the locational disadvantages construct.

The approach taken was a combination of postal questionnaire survey, interviews in home and host countries, desk research and direct observation.

The locational factors which maligned their interest preponderated the demand‐related factors. The findings validated the applicability of the locational disadvantages construct.

Even though housing developers may be tempted to seek business opportunities abroad, they need to properly weigh an array of locational disadvantages of targeted host countries before making their market entry move.

This study gives focus to the internationalisation of housing developers, an area which has not received the scholastic attention it deserves. It also advances the locational disadvantages concept for application by scholars in housing development.