26/05/2026

TUESDAY | MAY 26, 2026

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‘Households financially stretched to buy new homes’

factor but by the interaction between pricing, income, financing, land cost and market structure.” He added that interest rates only help at the edges by lowering monthly payments but cannot fix a situation where house prices are simply too high compared with what most households earn. “If these factors are ranked, the primary issue remains pricing relative to income. Financing exposes the gap while income growth determines how severe it becomes over time,” he said. – BY HARITH KAMAL PETALING JAYA: The Road Transport Department (RTD) has reversed course on its abrupt suspension of online vehicle ownership transfer services, agreeing to restore access immediately after Transport Minister Anthony Loke stepped in. He said the planned system maintenance has now been deferred to the upcoming long weekend. Loke said he had raised the matter directly with RTD director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli, who revealed that the rationale behind the suspension was the detection of abuses of the online system that had resulted in financial liabilities for the department. While acknowledging those concerns, Loke made clear that system improvement works should not come at the expense of ordinary users. “The RTD has agreed to immediately reinstate the online services for such transactions, and any temporary suspension of the system for improvement works will only be carried out during this coming long weekend holiday,” he said in a post on his Facebook page yesterday. The long weekend in question includes Wesak Day on Sunday (May 31), followed by the birthday of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia and Hari Gawai on Monday (June 1) – a period during which reduced transaction volumes would minimise disruption to the public. The reversal comes a day after Aedy Fadly announced on Sunday that RTD’s digital vehicle ownership change service would be taken offline with immediate effect, covering all channels – the public portal, kiosks and authorised business partners MyEG and eAuto Sdn Bhd. The suspension had forced all individual and private company ownership transfer transactions to be handled in person at RTD counters. Under the initial directive, eAuto’s temporary ownership transfer channel was the sole exception permitted to continue operating as normal. That carve-out is now rendered moot following the reinstatement of the broader online system. Minister steps in to get online vehicle ownership transfer services restored Ű BY THE SUN TEAM newsdesk@thesundaily.com

o With RM10,000 to RM15,000 income needed monthly to own a house in major cities, even those who qualify for loans often not financially comfortable: Academic

Ű BY HARITH KAMAL newsdesk@thesundaily.com

household in a position to safely sustain homes priced between RM400,000 and RM570,000, depending on debt levels and living expenses. However, recent market data underscores a growing disconnect. The national average house price has climbed to RM502,922, while Kuala Lumpur averages RM819,848 and Selangor RM567,505, respectively. Muhammad Najib said this explains why many households appear “qualified on paper” but remain financially stretched in practice. “Even households earning around RM7,000 to RM8,000 monthly may still qualify for financing but ownership often becomes financially stretched once childcare, transport, maintenance fees, insurance, utilities and other daily expenses are factored in. “At a higher income level, households earning around RM10,000 a month are better positioned, with capacity to sustain homes priced between RM580,000 and RM700,000, making entry-level urban ownership more realistic.” He said in major cities where prices exceed RM800,000, buyers typically require combined household incomes of RM13,000 to RM16,000 or more to avoid financial strain. Muhammad Najib said this is reshaping Malaysia’s housing market into increasingly distinct income tiers. “Lower-income groups remain dependent on public and affordable housing schemes while middle income households increasingly face trade-offs between location, size and long-term debt commitments. “At the same time, upper-middle and high-income households, often dual-income professionals or families with financial support, dominate the open urban market.” He said the real issue is no longer

PETALING JAYA: Owning a typical urban home in Malaysia is increasingly drifting beyond the reach of ordinary earners, with households now needing about RM10,000 to RM15,000 a month to sustain ownership in major cities, according to a property economist. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Najib Razali, who specialises in property economics and finance, said the gap between incomes and house prices has widened to a point where even households that qualify for loans are often not financially comfortable once broader living costs are factored in. “Under current lending conditions, interest rates and household income levels, most Malaysians today can realistically afford only homes priced well below what is commonly available in major urban centres.” He said banks typically consider mortgage repayments sustainable only when they do not exceed 25% to 30% of gross household income for a 90% loan, repaid over 35 years, at an interest rate of around 4.5%. He added that under this framework, a household earning RM3,000 a month can only afford homes priced roughly between RM175,000 and RM210,000, effectively limiting access to low-cost or heavily subsidised housing. “Even at RM5,000 a month, buyers are generally confined to homes in the RM300,000 to RM350,000 range, still within the affordable housing segment rather than the open urban market. “The pressure becomes more visible when compared with national income data. Malaysia’s median household income stands at about RM7,017 while the urban median is around RM8,139.” Muhammad Najib said based on calculations, this places a typical

Muhammad Najib said under current lending conditions, interest rates and household income levels, most Malaysians today can realistically afford only homes priced well below what is commonly available in major urban centres. – ADIB RAWI YAHYA/THESUN

while Kuala Lumpur averages RM819,848 and Selangor RM567,505. At the same time, unsold completed homes have risen to 30,471 units, with another 72,384 still under construction, suggesting that some homes are too expensive for the market to fully absorb. He said this reflects a wider imbalance, where developers are building higher-priced homes while many buyers are stuck in lower and middle-income brackets. “Ultimately, Malaysia’s affordability challenge is not driven by a single what a median Malaysian household can safely afford under normal financing conditions.” Overall, Muhammad Najib’s assessment points to a structural imbalance in the housing market, driven less by supply constraints or weak growth, and more by a widening gap between urban property prices and household incomes. For many Malaysians, homeownership remains achievable on paper but increasingly difficult to sustain without financial strain.

just whether people can get a loan but whether their salaries are rising fast enough to keep up with rising house prices over time. “Malaysia’s economy grew 5.2% in 2025, and borrowing conditions remain supportive with the Overnight Policy Rate at 2.75%. “Property sales are also still strong, with more than 400,000 transactions recorded, showing that demand remains high even as affordability is getting tighter. “The national average house price of RM502,922 already exceeds

Property prices outpacing incomes of Malaysians PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s housing affordability problem is mainly due to a gap caused by home prices rising faster than incomes, said Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Najib Razali who specialises in property economics and finance. He said the problem for most rise together with property prices, affordability remains stable. “But when prices outpace wage growth, affordability deteriorates directly.” credit may improve loan eligibility but they do not make a RM700,000 home genuinely affordable for a household that can realistically sustain only a RM400,000 to RM500,000 mortgage.” He said government schemes such as loan guarantees, first-homebuyer incentives and affordable housing programmes help people get into the system but do not fix the price gap if cost of homes keep rising faster than salaries. Muhammad Najib said this forces many households to take on bigger loans, stretch repayments over longer periods, move further away from city centres, accept smaller homes or rely on family support. He said cheaper interest rates and easier loans could help but they do not solve the real problem. “Lower interest rates and easier Data from the Property Market Report 2025 shows that the national average house price is RM502,922 Malaysians is not just about getting a loan but whether they actually earn enough to comfortably afford homes. “The strongest relationship remains between house prices and household income. When incomes