Affordable houses in Malaysia only accounted for 35 percent of the new supply in 2016, down from 75 percent during the previous year, said the central bank in a report by The Star.
“The remaining were residences costing above RM500,000,” said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim.
He noted that some residential properties being marketed as affordable are actually not. “Even the World Bank has characterised our houses as severely unaffordable.”
According to the central bank’s financial simulations in its 2016 Annual Report published in March 2017, households earning up to RM3,000 could only afford a property costing RM176,000.
Those earning between RM3,001 and RM5,000 could buy a home with a maximum value of RM283,000, while those with a salary of RM5,001 to RM10,000 can purchase a residence worth up to RM515,000.
However, the latest data from the National Property Information Centre showed that nearly three quarters of the available supply of houses in Malaysia are not really affordable.
Moreover, the proportion of low-cost houses is getting smaller, as fewer than 30 percent of residential properties unveiled from 2015 to 2016 comprised units costing below RM250,000, versus 70 percent between 2008 and 2009.
Hence, the issue regarding home affordability is mainly not about getting housing loans, but is about “not having enough income and houses being too expensive,” noted Muhammad
“As accountants, we look at the problem in a dispassionate way. We look at data and see that the problem is not about access to credit and we must have the courage to say it loudly and clearly to the public.”
He said this to an audience of 450 participants during the National Conference of Public Sector Accountants held in George Town, Penang on Tuesday (16 August).
Image sourced from Malaysia Chronicle
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