With expensive homes mostly being offered to consumers and the rakyat struggling to afford a roof above their heads, the number of unsold houses in the country increased by about 12.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2017 to reach the highest in ten years, according to a report from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
Compared to 130,690 units in the prior quarter, the number of unsold residential properties climbed to 146,497 units, of which nearly 82 percent comprise dwellings costing more than RM250,000.
The central bank revealed that Malaysia has a median household income of RM5,228, meaning houses costing over RM282,000 are out of reach for ordinary citizens. However, the median price of residential properties in the country is about RM313,000.
BNM noted that the take-home pay of Malaysians only grew 8.3 percent between 2007 and 2016, while home prices rose at a higher rate of 9.8 percent. Aside from that, property developers built more luxury homes than affordable houses since 2012.
As the number of unsold houses hit the highest level in a decade, the federal government temporarily banned the development approvals of upscale houses, offices and shopping centres valued at more than RM1 million, until the supply glut is addressed.
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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