16/07/2026

PROPERTY THURSDAY | JULY 16, 2026

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When buying is cheaper than renting

SP Setia takes World Silver at Fiabci awards SHAH ALAM: SP Setia Bhd has been named World Silver Winner in the Residential Low Rise Category at the 2026 Fiabci World Prix d’Excellence Awards for Precinct Arundina, its award winning landed residential de velopment within Setia Eco Park in Selangor. The award was received by Datuk Zaini Yusoff, president and CEO of Setia, on behalf of the group at the 2026 Fiabci World Prix d’Excellence Awards pre sentation ceremony and gala dinner held at the Hofburg Vienna, Heldenplatz / Feststiege, recently. Zaini said, “This international recognition is a strong affirm ation of Setia’s continued com mitment to delivering thought fully planned, high-quality developments that respond to the evolving needs of today’s homebuyers. “It also elevates Precinct Arundina’s standing on the global stage, while reinforcing Setia Eco Park’s reputation as one of Malaysia’s most successful and enduring township develop ments.” He added Precinct Arundina has resonated strongly with homebuyers by offering quality landed homes at competitive price points, complemented by a tranquil, green and well-con nected living environment. This latest accolade further strengthens Setia’s standing at the Fiabci World Prix d’Excellence Awards, widely regarded as the global benchmark for real estate. To date, Setia has secured 19 World Gold Prix d’Excellence Awards, the highest number attained by any developer globally. Founded in Paris in 1951,

He added 24 of the 59 property categories they analysed still favour renting on the basis of monthly costs. Renting beats buying most decisively at the premium end of the market. “In KLCC, the monthly mortgage on a two-bedroom apartment runs to RM6,185, while renting the same type of unit costs RM4,463. In George Town, the gap between monthly mortgage costs and rents ranges from RM771 for a two-bedroom to RM804 for a three-bedroom. George Town property prices have held up well, but rents have not kept pace. If you just need a home to live in, renting in George Town or KLCC is the more affordable monthly choice. “The data shows that more expensive properties are more likely to cost more to buy than rent. Luxury apartments in places like KLCC carry a price premium that has nothing to do with their potential to earn rental income. Instead, buyers are paying for an address, for scarcity, and for the status that comes with ownership.” Ansari explained how Juwai IQI made the calculations. He said, “To reach these conclusions, we took two snapshots of the market, in February 2024 and February 2026. Then we analysed 59 location-and-bedroom type combinations, from studios in Tampoi to four-bedroom apartments in KLCC. “For each combination, we calculated the monthly mortgage payment a buyer would face today, using a 4.5% annual interest rate, a 30-year loan, and a 10% down payment. These assumptions are consistent with the prevailing Malaysian home loan rates. “Next, we compared that monthly mortgage cost to the average monthly rent for the same property type. Where rent covered the mortgage, buying wins on the basis of monthly cash flow. Where it fell short, renting does. When the cost of renting is within 2% of the monthly cost of your mortgage, we deemed it too close to call. “Note that this data does not account for capital appreciation. Buyers can build equity, but renters cannot. Nor does it account for the deposit cost, which renters don’t pay but buyers do. Finally, these data don’t account for any costs other than the monthly mortgage and rent expenses. Both buyers and renters do face additional costs, and mortgage rates could vary.” power, water and supporting infrastructure are considered across clusters of development. In this environment, execution is defined by the ability to operate within those constraints. Projects that align early with infrastructure availability, coordinate across stakeholders and structure delivery accordingly are better positioned to proceed with certainty. Malaysia remains a highly attractive market, with strong fundamentals and a growing role in regional digital infrastructure. As investment continues to scale, the ability to plan and deliver infrastructure in a more integrated manner is becoming central to how projects move from concept through to operation.

pay just RM3,644. Three-bedrooms in Bukit Bintang and two- bedrooms in Bukit Jalil also crossed over and are now cheaper to buy than rent.” Outside Kuala Lumpur, Ansari said, two other cities shifted in favour of buyers. In Iskander Puteri, studios and two bedroom apartments both flipped. A renter paying RM2,528 a month for a two-bedroom could instead own the same type of home for a monthly mortgage of RM2,331. They would save nearly RM200 every month. In Subang Jaya, a one-bedroom renter currently pays RM1,896 a month, while a buyer of a comparable unit pays only RM1,689. Again, they save more than RM200 a month. “For Malaysian families who have been waiting for the right time to buy, this data gives you a reason to consider doing so this year. However, buying still requires a down payment, and it is not the right choice for everyone at every stage of life. For families who are ready, and in the right locations, the monthly numbers are now working in their favour,” said Ansari.

o New Juwai IQI data shows rents now outpace mortgage repayments in more neighbourhoods

KUALA LUMPUR: In Jalan Kuching, renting a four-bedroom apartment costs RM1,372 more per month than buying one. New data from Juwai IQI reveals where monthly rental costs now exceed the monthly mortgage repayments for buyers of comparable homes. The company’s co-founder and group CEO Kashif Ansari said, “One of our IQI agents recently helped a family who exchanged their two bedroom rental in Iskander Puteri for a purchased three-bedroom condo. They now have a larger home, but their monthly expenses are about the same as before. And their new building even has a kids’ wading pool. “If you can afford to move into a four-bedroom home in Jalan Kuching, Kuala Lumpur, you could save RM1,372 per month. Were rent and mortgage costs to hold steady,

that would add up to more than RM164,000 over 10 years. Meanwhile, he added, the number of neighbourhoods where the monthly cost of renting is lower than a mortgage has plummeted by 29%. It has fallen from 34 in 2024 to 24 today. Ansari said at 12 property categories that previously favoured renting have flipped to favour buying over the past two years because rents have risen faster than purchase prices or mortgage costs. “Kuala Lumpur. The clearest example is Jalan Kuching, where you pay RM2,528 a month on average to rent a two-bedroom apartment. Yet, you could buy that same apartment and pay only RM2,239 in monthly mortgage expenses. “For a four-bedroom in the same area, the gap is even wider. Renters pay RM5,016 a month while buyers

Fiabci, the International Real Estate Federation, is a worldwide business networking organisation for professionals across the real estate industry. Malaysia’s construction boom faces delivery test MALAYSIA’S data centre market continues to attract strong misalignment have immediate commercial impact. to be demonstrated

district scale, enabling shared infrastructure, clearer capacity sequencing and more efficient allocation of constrained resources. In concentrated markets such as Johor, elements of this approach are beginning to emerge, including shared recycled water systems and coordinated utility upgrades. These developments reflect a practical response to constraint, where infrastructure is planned collectively to support multiple projects rather than addressed individually. These conditions are changing how data centre projects are delivered in practice. The challenge is not simply securing land, capital or capacity, but aligning infrastructure, approvals and delivery within a constrained system. This is reflected in a shift away from purely site-based delivery towards more coordinated approaches where

upfront. Simultaneously, AI is increasing the intensity of demand. Higher rack densities and continuous operating loads are raising power and cooling requirements, placing additional pressure on already constrained systems. These conditions are exposing the limits of planning infrastructure at an individual project level. When multiple campuses progress in parallel, each drawing separately on power, water and supporting systems, constraints are encountered repeatedly and capacity becomes difficult to align. In our recent report, Powering Data Centres: Are Integrated Utility Precincts the Answer?, we examine how these pressures are prompting a shift towards more coordinated infrastructure planning. Rather than taking a standalone approach, an integrated utility hub considers power, water and cooling systems at a

Banking & Finance In these markets, power and water are determining which data centre projects move forward. Construction and commissioning depend on confirmed grid capacity and secured water supply, and approvals increasingly require both Industry estimates suggest that a one-month delay on a hyperscale data centre can exceed RM60 million in lost revenue and liquidated damages, leaving little tolerance for slippage. The scale of activity reinforces these pressures. Under the 13th Malaysia Plan, RM81 billion in gross development spending has been earmarked, with data centres expected to account for RM13–14 billion in contracts by mid-2026. Much of this is concentrated in a small number of growth corridors, where multiple large projects draw on the same utilities and contractor pool.

investment, driven by hyperscale expansion, cloud growth and the rapid scaling of AI infrastructure. Johor has emerged as a key regional hub, supported by proximity to Singapore and an established delivery ecosystem. This growth is now taking place under increasing constraint, with power, water and construction capacity shaping how projects are planned, approved and delivered. Infrastructure availability and timing are now central to outcomes, as projects cannot progress without confirmed power, secured water supply and a delivery programme that reflects both. After more than two decades working across Malaysian con struction and infrastructure projects, one point stands out: delays linked to power, water or programme

This article is contributed by TBH country manager for Malaysia, Michael Tan.

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