KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): The federal government has rolled out several key initiatives aimed at moderating residential property prices and ensuring continued access to affordable housing, particularly for first-time homebuyers.
Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Aiman Athirah Sabu said one of the main measures is the introduction of a price ceiling of RM300,000 for affordable homes under the National Affordable Housing Policy.
She explained that the ministry has also implemented an affordable housing price mapping framework to ensure that home prices are aligned with household income levels across different regions.
“The price mapping is based on median household income data at the state and district levels from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2024. It serves as a benchmark for setting suitable house prices by locality and is accessible through the affordable housing information dashboard on the Malaysian Urban Observatory website,” she said during the Dewan Rakyat’s question-and-answer session.
Aiman Athirah was responding to a query from Muhammad Ismi Mat Taib (PN–Parit) regarding government efforts to address sudden increases in house prices that have placed financial pressure on first-time buyers.
She added that oversight of housing developments has been strengthened through the Housing Integrated Management System (HIMS), which digitises the application process for housing development licences, as well as advertising and sales permits. The system also functions as a centralised platform for data collection, project monitoring and reporting, enabling early intervention for developments that face delays or potential risks.
According to data from the National Property Information Centre (Napic), residential property prices in Malaysia have continued to trend upward. The Malaysian House Price Index reached 227.3 points in the first half of 2025, with the average home price recorded at RM490,376 per unit.
To further support home ownership, the government has enhanced assistance for first-time buyers through the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme (SJKP). The scheme provides guaranteed financing of up to RM500,000, particularly benefiting B40 and M40 households, including individuals without fixed monthly incomes.
Under SJKP, eligible first-time buyers can also access housing loans of up to 120% of the property value, along with step-up financing options that offer lower initial instalments which increase progressively in line with income growth.
From a broader market standpoint, policies aimed at stabilising residential prices play a complementary role in sustaining confidence across Malaysia’s real estate landscape. Stable housing affordability supports demand for commercial property in KL, emerging office space in Bukit Jalil, and long-term investment interest in industrial land in Selangor, including factory developments in Puchong and established industrial property in the Subang area, where employment growth continues to drive property demand.
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