With property prices going up and salaries not really keeping up, is it still realistic for millennials to buy a home in Malaysia? A lot of people say renting is better, while others insist that buying is the way to go. What do you all think?

Some things I’m curious about:
🏡 What’s a realistic budget for a first home in KL, Selangor, or other major cities?
💰 Is My First Home Scheme (Skim Rumah Pertamaku) or other government schemes actually helpful?
📉 Will property prices drop or keep rising in the next few years?
🏠 For those who already bought a house—any regrets or tips?

Would love to hear your thoughts! Are you planning to buy, already own a place, or just sticking to renting?

if market (investor, developer) continue to push average house price UP.
the final game over will be themselves.


We need a Place to stay
Not necessary to OWN it.

Like doing Business, Go ask 100 out of 100 startup
how many of them thinking of owning props?? Buying shoplots???

exclude those not ambitious, have no plan. You get zero...

We need a place to jump start, do business.
not owning a place.

-----

If Market continue to push it to near impossible zone.
Well, home buyer would turn to something else more realistic.

My Prediction. Future gen = nomad. living in thier Hybrid MObility Home.

Not really can afford the same range of house. Salary range didn't really go up in tendem with property price except min wages.
Now they can afford is because the units become smaller to try maintain lower price.

budget RM500K. last time is 1000sf. 10 years later is 500sf.

In stead of blaming the property price shoot up, i would rather say it is more the devalue of our money, everybody money, globally

Says, you buy a house at 300k 20 years ago, now the price shoot up to 600k (conservatively). Did you earn 1 more house? No, you still own just 1 same house. It is only our money depreciated as of now compere to 20 years ago, and now we need 600k to buy the same house

I am not scammer so I can not guarantee you that the property price will sure appreciate (even I believe so) in long run, but I can guarantee that you our money will devalue FOR SURE.

I am glad I own some properties, they doesn't make me richer, but keep my nett worth stay put even in the environment where our money value depreciated a lots

Go ahead and buy within your affordability is my advise

And for those who claim future generation will go nomad way just because the property price keep going up, I would see it as a careless prediction or just a very less-clever opinion, which you can just ignore : )

IMO, realistic budget for first home is around RM300k.
Coincidentally that's also where rumahwip and rumah selangor put their price.
People still buy those property so definitely they can afford to own a home.

Rent vs buy is a different matter.
I honestly don't see any problem in renting. Less commitment since at most you only need to pay 3 months deposit.
Buy maybe if you really like that area or you found a really good deal.

Will property value go up or down? No one can predict the future, just pick a place where you feel comfortable.
Not a fan of flipping house and I think the trend is also dying.

Already happening for new launches.

500sf 500k but bao ka liao legal fee and furnishing except mot la.. haha

This is only happening at prime location but not suburban area. Not to forgot Malaysia still have plenty of undeveloped land yet.

If young generations are opt for nomad lifestyle they can always stay away from city center and those sub urban town you are still able to get some affordable pricing & liveable size of houses

Compared to our earlier generations, the open market properties have been priced out of most of our affordability.

Nevertheless, I still think we have one of the most accommodative and supportive Government in the world in promoting homeownership.

You'll be spoiled for choices for a number of really attractive Government affiliated affordable properties, especially in Klang Valley.

And also the 100% financing for first time homebuyers plus tax relief for progressive interest plus stamp duty exemptions.

What more do you want?

Though I don't think this privilege will last forever. There will come a time the Government rolling back all these benefits, I think.

Here's my take as a property agent,

Yes it's still realistic. Of course, the only downside is that wages has not been keeping up but at least we are seeing changes these past few years.

Take China for example, downpayment is at 15% for first home (Shanghai at 20%), used to be even higher in the past.

Singapore at 25% (with 5% in cash and balance 20% from CPF)

Does Malaysia sound more realistic then? 😅

1) When it comes to realistic budget, I would say max 30% of your monthly income. Make it max 30% of your nett income would be even better. So if your nett income is RM 10k, max should be at RM 3000 for your monthly mortgage which would be a property in the range of RM 500k - RM 600k.

2) Yes the schemes are helpful. Personally bought and staying in a rumahwip on a 100% loan. Around 330k (as I have additional parking), monthly around RM 1600+ (including maintainance), since I am staying alone, I rented out the other two rooms at RM 1200 which is well, very good for me. Of course, the location is also very important. I am very comfortable with this area of purchase and I know who are my exact potential tenants.

3) It will rise and drop. Average annual growth is at 5% at states like Selangor, KL, Johor, Pahang. Read it again, AVERAGE. So some years you might have positive 10+ % growth , some years you have negative growth

4) Don't over leverage. Things can and will happen regardless of how well you are doing at the moment.

Think what you want to do with the property. Own stay? Investment for capital appreciation? Investment for high rental yield? Own stay + investment? Different property caters for different purposes.

Don't expect your selling price to be the same as your SPA price if you are thinking to sell it in the early stages. A few days ago, a client wanted to sell a property at 600k. She bought it at 530k. Actual transacted price is around the 480k region but since she has paid it off, I advised her to rent it out for the time being till the market gets better.

As you are usually given the 10% rebate on project based properties, other owners who are cash strapped or have some financial difficulties will just sell it off at the price after the rebate. And that will affect the transaction price of the whole development in the short term.

It's a buyers/renters market at the moment. Plenty of choices but as an asset class, property is cyclical in nature. When it comes to the sellers market, one should not then complain of the high property prices and high rentals.

It's a sellers market at the moment in Singapore, and I can assure you that the young people there are feeling hopeless towards the property market as it's getting more and more unaffordable. There's even quite a few number of expats moving over to Malaysia because rentals are getting crazy there.

Cheers

This post has been edited by raymondleong29: Feb 14 2025, 10:43 AM

Here are some facts:
material costs, consultant costs, compliance costs, land costs etc. all have skyrocketed
Developers margins are squeezed almost by half from the good old days of the last property boom around 2006 to 2008 ish
Our money has devalued/ depreciated
Land in prime locations are running out
salaries have not caught up with costs of living
Banks more strict in giving loans

BUT:

Government regulations encourage/ force developers to build affordable homes
1st time home buyers never had it better by getting heavily subsidised homes (in the past only the B40 can get low cost flats)
Free stamp duty etc

Overall, millenials can still get affordable homes but location may not be what you want. IMHO, go get one as it will surely appreciated since you are getting a unit below cost/ heavily subsidised.

It's still possible to buy a house if you plan properly. I bought a 500k condo in KL last year with 10% downpayment and a decent salary. The key is to avoid lifestyle inflation—cut unnecessary spending, save aggressively, and look at areas slightly further from the city center. Government schemes like PR1MA or Rumah Selangorku can help too. If you wait too long, prices might go even higher.

1/ Realistic budget - depends on your budget. Ideally don't exceed 30% of your salary. Prepare to make some sacrifices like location, type of properties, etc. If you cannot afford, then rent and save money first. Don't let the FOMO spirit make you take a decision that you regret. Buying a property is a big step and take sufficient time to research and don't blindly trust the info from a single entity especially from REN, property gurus and developers as their core interest is still to earn money. Always double check.

2/ First Home Scheme - Yes, it is still a good scheme especially for those who are starting a family and need to place to raise kids.

3/ Property Price Outlook - Depends on various factors like land scarcity, condition of the condo, development of the areas, etc. I don't wish to speculate as I bought my place for own stay. I focus more on how the location, affordability and type of property make sense for me. Honestly, regardless how high the price might go, it will barely earn much considering the cost of ownership (maintenance fee, bank interest, repair, renovation, taxes, etc)

4/ Bought a house - At this juncture, it's a mixed feeling. There are pros and cons for buying especially when it comes to flexibility. But I have done my research and made the decision to my best knowledge.

It is also nice to get out from renting world as I have a long experience living in poorly maintained houses, racist landlord/landlady, etc.

Well said

1. Save up enough for the 10% deposit first
2. Whether is RUMAWIP or Rumah Wilayah or open market project is all depends on your afforability, office location (hybrid or fully office)
3. Property price will only stagnant or increase slowly, won't drop. Do you see food price drop or increase throughout the years
4. Follow your first impression on the project to purchase. Do survey on the actual site and it's traffic condition and what shop or public amenities that you need for you or family need.
5. Rent first before you can actually afford a property. Calculate if you can afford, monthly loan, maintenance fee, quit rent, assessment fee, fire insurance, renovation cost and repair cost for long run.

Why not?

There are more and more new launhed projects are actually priced "lower" than the new properties launched in 2012-2015. How can it be lower price? Many new projects come with high cash back or discount, although smaller unit but better facilities and 2 carparks (old condo was only 1 carpark mostly).

Also there are number of affordable houses initiated by federal government and states gov such as rumawip and selangorku where the price is at RM300k. Many still not aware there are many new affordable houses are pending to be launched. Land already ready but not yet launched due to current affordable houses are still unsold.

you might be able to buy a property... but better factor in the maintenance fees as well.. most of the folks still can stay in the condo but can't afford the maintenance fees all add in.

In these day and age, you afford to buy a property in a young age but dipping into EPF funds ( borrowing from your future self ).

Better way is to save up and pay more than downpayment. And at the same time build up your passive income to a stage that you're able to support more than half of your monthly commitment for your (home + maintenance fees).

Whats not guaranteed is your ability to keep your work in future and your income. No harm in renting a room... then slowly going to rent a small apartment... then once you build up the above... move to owning your own place.

How confident when you said that the property price "won't drop"?

I cincai point some projects out and lets debate and correct me if I am wrong.

Houses built in Semenyih, Puncak Alam, Rimbayu (surrounding), and Rawang. Majority landed houses VP on 2016 - 2020 the second hand market price is lower than SNP price. I got one unit and if you can confirm to buy at SNP price I can sell you straight (since you said property price won't drop). Bear in mind that I have spent tens of thousands on reno and also serving loan for few years. Selling at SNP price I still make a big lost. But the problem is in second hand market now the value is 10% below my SNP price. I am glad to sell to you if you accep it as SNP price. Lolz

Maybe you got the excuse these places far from KL. I simply take 2 projects with KL postcode, Lxkeville small unit launched price RM590k in 2017 and now second hand value is RM500k as advertised. Setapak Px18 lowest price launched in 2018 is 470k and second hand value now about 480k as advertised (the final sell out should at least 5% lower).

Property is expect to drop more in future because
1. birth rate drop
2. many young people remain single or married without kid
3. Parents already bought houses for kids
4. Flexible job and rent is more convenient

Bro, just curious which location u bought?

Point no.3 , as mentioned by another user, is unfortunately untrue when it's mentioned that property price won't drop l.

As a property agent, I have seen quite a number of cases where property purchased in the past by clients has been stagnant, value has dropped even when purchased 20-30 years back and worse is, unsellable.

My aunt asked me to help her to sell a shop unit of hers in Banting, she bought at 180k 20 years back and even selling at that price now, there's absolutely no taker because that whole area is just in such a bad condition as a whole, the development. Even if she drops the price tremendously, I can honestly say that there will be 0 takers. Of course, there's also many cases where it has appreciated a lot some of their "right" purchases.

Whereas property nowadays are more on the stagnant side as developers has priced in all inflation and future pricing. But can we buy property nowadays? Yes, you still can. But don't expect it to fly in value. Price will remain stagnant till the next boom.

Quite a lot of developments are transacted below SPA price. Why? Because of the rebates given, desperate sellers just sell la 10% below SPA since that's the "rebate" given anyway. But as long as the expectation is set (which most people don't seem to bother to think themselves), then all is good.

Property is cyclical in nature. In the long term, most properties will appreciate due to inflation etc and occasionally it will rise up quite a lot but history has shown, most properties appreciate around the 5% mark annually. In case people don't know how to read, it's average.