The government tried to help the lower to middle income class people buy a home by introducing the My First Home Loan Scheme. According to this scheme, people who earn less than RM 5,000 per month or below, can apply for a 100% bank loan for a house instead of paying the 10% down payment.

However, the scheme is flawed and requires the eligible ones to pay RM 2,000 for a house with an RM 400,000 price tag. With time, the house prices are rising exponentially and it will become more difficult for the middle and lower income class of Malaysia to afford a home in the future.

According to the Housing Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan, there is a 40% difference between the demand for affordable housing and its supply in the country at the moment. The Department of Statistics Housing Income Survey 2013 states that 80% Malaysians earn less than RM 6,900 per month and cannot afford houses priced at higher than RM 300,000.

According to the report of National Property Information Centre 2013, only 31.7% of the total number of housing units constructed in the year 2012, had a price tag below RM 250,000. The rising income of the middle class is finding it extremely difficult to keep pace with the price hike of housing units and thereby the need for affordable housing becomes more important than ever before.

Government has a lot to do when it comes to developing low cost and affordable housing for the people of Malaysia. Most importantly, in 2014 Budget, government is providing subsidy of RM30,000 per unit, which encourage developers to build more low- and medium-cost houses.

Starting 2014, developers must build at least 20 per cent low-cost houses and 20 per cent medium-cost houses in a housing project. The houses are open to first-time buyers with a monthly household income of RM3,000 for low-cost houses and a maximum of RM6,000 for medium-cost houses.

As an alternative to compulsory affordable housing construction, the Government can take initiatives to provide free land at strategic areas backed by efficient public transportation systems. They can also fix the price or the proportional rise in price per square feet for affordable housing units under the development projects.

However, if the government still wants the developers to hold the responsibility for construction of these houses, they can provide a nice incentive by constructing small shops and malls within the affordable housing areas. This will provide a decent profit to compensate the construction subsidy.

To put it simply, people should not dive into an investment just because someone recommended it. Many a times, people with low income fail to forecast the future financial situations and jump into purchasing an expensive housing unit well out of league.

When you’re buying an affordable house, you’ll probably be looking for the ones near the city hotspots. These two considerations are very unlikely to match. However, the government are constructing infrastructures keeping in mind the requirements of low cost housing residents. For instance, LRT Line 1 and 2 and MRT Line 1 and 2 extensions are under construction.

In the future, LRT Line 3 from Shah Alam/Klang to Petaling Jaya will also be constructed along with a number of new expressways and highways. The housing prices are more affordable in the Kajang or Sungai Buloh areas. So within a few years, it will be possible to buy a home there and still work in KL without the need to own a car.

I strongly urge that these type of investors should stop doing so. If you are not entitled to own one, please don’t block other people who deserve it. Money should be made ethically.

Despite the so many challenges to build affordable houses in Malaysia, it’s true that we are living in one of the most exciting ages considering the economy and property market history of the country. The construction and sales business is a very big challenge in 2014.

There will be a changing panorama in the field of mortgage loans and home financing this year. But nevertheless, the purchasers and developers have to adapt to the new environment in a creative and positive manner, stimulating the entire industry.

The citizens of Malaysia planning to purchase affordable properties should consider the property markets in the most potential areas including the ones which are yet to be discovered. There are opportunities for everyone. If you’re looking for a property or planning to sell a property, you can make the best from best from both.

There are lots of strategic locations in the country, where the land price is minimum and yet there are scopes for developers to construct affordable houses and raise the community value. If more people are interested to invest in locations adjacent to affordable housing communities, the business will flourish and prospective home owners can also enjoy the facilities of an advanced residential area.

Although the government has the most to do when it comes to constructing affordable housing units for the greater population of the country, we need to have patience and wait for the right opportunity. Things will definitely change with time and more affordable houses will be developed.

There are lots of people who prefer not to choose a housing unit in a community developed under the banner of ‘affordable’ or ‘low cost’ housing. If well planned, most people would be happy to stay in such area with great connectivity and facilities, paying just a fraction of the cost of high-end condominium. I believe Singapore has done pretty well with their HDB flat development (it is many times more expensive than a decent apartment in Johor).

Considering the fact that a majority of Malaysian middle and lower class people focus less on savings, it might be a convenient way to afford better homes in the future. When the government successfully does their job, it’s all upto the people to cooperate and ensure that people from all classes can happily afford their dream homes!