Hundreds of thousands of people apply for the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme (PR1MA), but many who are qualified still let this opportunity pass by for fear of not having enough leftover cash to pay the monthly mortgage instalment.
For instance, 35-year-old car salesman Mohd Azlin Razali is eligible but is holding back so that he will have enough money to purchase necessities.
“I am afraid that if I were to get a housing loan I won’t be able to afford anything else, like food, utilities, and diapers,” said the father of a one-year-old daughter who earns between RM4,000 and RM5,000 per month.
“Right now, things are so expensive and they keep going up. If you don’t have RM5,000 a month you can barely make it. I am still able to cover our expenses. But if I get a housing loan I don’t know how I’ll cope.”
Azlin’s situation proves the warning of experts that the meagre income of the average Malaysian is not enough to acquire a residential property.
According to industry veteran Ernest Cheong, only families with a monthly household income of RM10,000 are capable of purchasing dwellings costing over RM250,000.
He explained that the rising cost of groceries and other essentials have resulted in typical income earners having insufficient savings to repay housing loans.
“Those earning RM5,000 two years ago could save RM1,000, but today they can only save a few hundred ringgit. Malaysians are being squeezed for money to live.”
Notably, 89 percent of Malaysia’s working population take home less than RM5,000, said the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) in 2016.
Meanwhile, PR1MA units are only offered to families earning between RM2,500 and RM15,000 per month. But judging by the prices, these homes are still costly for many.
In fact, the PR1MA portal lists 18 developments open for application, while 31 others have been re-opened, but limited units are available.
The former has 15 projects with houses costing from RM100,000 to RM200,000, nine with dwellings priced between RM201,000 and RM250,000, while seven are selling residences for RM251,000 to RM300,000.
For the developments open for application, only Kedah’s Changlun project has the lowest selling price of RM187,000, while the rest fetch between RM201,000 and RM300,000.
Image sourced from The Star.
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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