PropertyGuru study finds home- buyers facing affordability issues
Published on: Friday, September 09, 2022
By: Bernama
PropertyGuru said potential homebuyers may continue to face affordability issues amid concerns over the ongoing global recession and inflation rates.
Kuala Lumpur: PropertyGuru Malaysia’s Consumer Sentiment Study for the second half (H2) of 2022 (CSS H2 2022) found that potential homebuyers are facing affordability issues in their homeownership journey, with 51 per cent of respondents understanding that they are not qualified for government affordable housing schemes and are not able to purchase property without financial assistance.With the overnight policy rate (OPR) increased by 25 basis points in July, on top of the consumer price index (CPI) rising to an ultimate high of 4.4 per cent year-on-year, PropertyGuru said potential homebuyers may continue to face affordability issues amid concerns over the ongoing global recession and inflation rates.ADVERTISEMENT
“This was evident in CSS H2 2022 as about half of the respondents surveyed stated that they do not qualify for government housing schemes and may not be able to afford to purchase a property without assistance,” PropertyGuru said in a statement Thursday.
In the biannual study, 73 per cent of the respondents have a clear understanding of eligibility terms for affordable housing, indicating that potential homebuyers will continue to be on the lookout for other government housing initiatives to aid their homeownership journeys.
Country manager, Malaysia (PropertyGuru.com.my and iProperty.com.my) Sheldon Fernandez said that as seen in the CSS H2 2022, consumers have a sound awareness of government initiatives and eligibility for affordable housing.
“With the ongoing recession, inflation, price hikes and OPR increase, we expect potential homebuyers to continue the wait-and-see approach until the overall cost of living has stabilised.ADVERTISEMENT
“With the Budget 2023 announcement coming up soon, we are hopeful that there will be allocations that can help spur the property market and aid those that are planning to embark on their homeownership journey,” he said.
According to Sheldon, the CSS H2 2022 has also indicated that more than 69 per cent of those surveyed plan to buy a house if the Home Ownership Campaign is revived.
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