RISING property prices and mounting living costs are increasingly pushing young Malaysians away from home ownership, as many struggle to afford even basic entry into the housing market despite various government assistance schemes.
Senior lecturer at the Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Muhammad Azwan Sulaiman said the trend was becoming especially severe in major urban centres such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and Penang, where housing prices in strategic locations have risen significantly faster than income growth.
According to him, the widening imbalance between earnings and housing costs has sharply increased the house price-to-income ratio, severely undermining affordability among younger buyers.
“Although there are various government assistance schemes, many young buyers still face difficulties preparing the initial deposit, legal fees, stamp duties and other related costs because they are forced to prioritise daily expenses and monthly commitments.
“This situation has caused a large segment of young people to choose renting first while strengthening their financial position.
“In fact, some are also postponing house purchases until they achieve more stable income levels or after starting families. This phenomenon is becoming increasingly visible in urban areas with high living costs,” Harian Metro reported him saying.
Muhammad Azwan said the challenge facing younger Malaysians was worsened by the fact that property prices were currently increasing at a rate faster than consumer inflation, placing home ownership further out of reach for many first-time buyers.
He noted that stricter housing financing conditions had also become a major barrier for younger applicants attempting to secure mortgages.
“The common challenge is that many young people already have existing commitments such as education loans, vehicle financing and credit card usage, causing their debt service ratio (DSR) to become high.
“In addition, some of them also have limited or less established credit histories,” he said.
He added that the mismatch between prevailing market prices and the actual income levels of younger Malaysians remained one of the structural weaknesses in the country’s housing sector.
Muhammad Azwan said approval rates for housing loans could potentially improve if property prices were better aligned with current wage realities.
He stressed that the government should intensify the development of genuinely affordable housing projects that accurately reflect actual market affordability rather than speculative pricing trends.
“Incentives such as stamp duty exemptions, deposit assistance and rent-to-own (RTO) schemes can also continue to be strengthened to assist first-time homebuyers.
“Financial institutions can also introduce more flexible financing models including suitable repayment periods, more inclusive credit assessments and financial education programmes to improve the preparedness of young buyers.
“Developers also need to focus on developing products based on the real affordability of the market instead of concentrating only on high-priced segments,” he said.
The growing preference for renting among younger Malaysians reflects broader anxieties surrounding stagnant wage growth, rising urban living expenses and declining purchasing power, as policymakers face increasing pressure to address long-standing concerns over housing affordability and economic inequality. - May 23, 2026
