News by Asia%20Analytica

We provided our data-based analysis that contradicts the prevailing myth that housing is generally unaffordable in Malaysia. At the prevailing median household income of RM5,209 a month, and allowing 50% of disposable income (of RM4,543 a month) to be spent on fixed commitments (home mortgages and instalments on car loans), it translates into a median affordable house price of RM350,000, higher than the RM330,000 median house price for all of Malaysia in 2022, according to the National Property Information Centre (Napic)

Let us start with the definition of myth: (a) a widely held but false belief; and (b) an exaggeration or idealised conception of a thing.

Home ownership affordability, or rather, unaffordability, has been a hot-button issue for the longest time, not just domestically but also in many parts of the world. This is unsurprising. Housing is a basic human need (right), with significant long-term health and economic consequences to the country — and a politically sensitive issue for governments, as it is closely associated with discontent over rising income-wealth inequality, whether real or perceived.

If we do not innovate and try new ideas, we can never make progress.

he excesses of the past decade, the borrowing binge fuelled by ultra-low interest rates and liquidity, are coming back to bite us, no doubt.

Prices are weak in the secondary market, which is reflective of the real underlying property demand, yet strong in the primary market (set by developers). Does this make sense?

解决房屋可负担性的问题，最直接的方法是先降低各造面对的风险。如何做到？

Home prices have risen rapidly since 1990, fuelled by historically low interest rates and enabled by the then government’s policies (such as home ownership campaigns, Developer Interest Bearing Scheme and a reduction in the real property gains tax) and banks’ aggressive lending for mortgages. As a result, home affordability has declined by half.

Over the last few years, the Malaysian property market has been characterised by sluggish sales and a rising number of unsold homes. Developers are sitting on large stocks of inventories, which are stretching their balance sheets, funded by borrowings from banks, and the debt and capital markets, including issuing perpetual securities. The sector’s poor outlook is reflected in the low valuation of property stocks, most of which are trading at around one-third book value.

How did this situation come about?