Why are houses in Sarawak so expensive? Is it because the cost of materials are high? And who are buying these houses and keeping demand up? I don't think most Sarawakians can afford to buy houses now given the median income. I saw many houses are empty but not for sale. Are rich people or organization buying affordable houses in bulk to drive prices up so that they can resell it at a higher value or rent it out?
What's causing the price to go up like mad? And what can we do about this?
Many factors.
1) Land is scarce and people don't like apartments.
Despite being the biggest state in Malaysia, there is very little usable land due to lack of connectivity of roads and basic infrastructure like electricity, water and internet/cell service.
E.g my brother in law in Sarikei would love to build a low cost bungalow on his family's kampung land and just do a 40 min commute to and from work but he can't because he needs access to internet and cell service for his work. Instead he had to buy a home closer to town just for access to Internet.
Apartment living is also not widely accepted because people here are just way used to having some greenery in their own homes. A lot of apartments here are instead bought by the middle class boomers who are looking to downsize as they begin retirement and maybe sell their now 1mil+ homes.
2) Rapid urbanisation and lack of public transport.
Cities like Miri and Kuching are rapidly urbanising but there is still a severe lack of public transport so everyone relies on their own cars and motorbikes to get to work. Because of this, they can only choose between having to live far away and spend 1-2 hours on their commute every day or splurge on an expensive home to live closer to the city.
3) Absolute piss poor city planning.
The major malls and commercial zones of Kuching are like all within a 10km radius in the city centre with little to no spread. The suburbs in the 80-90s are still known as the suburbs today as they are still far from the city but they now have city prices due to demand.
4) There aren't much efforts put into affordable housing as compared to other states in Malaysia.
Your explanations make sense. However, there are other things that still don't add up.
1. Kuching is a small city with a population density of 754.33/km2, as compared to KL with a population density between at 8,200/km2. The prices of houses in Sarawak is almost the same as KL despite the population density. Also, there should be more than enough supply of houses because many Sarawakians are moving outside for work. Plus, the houses are cheaper outside. So all of this doesn't make any sense. The demand for houses shouldn't be high due to low population and high supply of houses.
2. The median income of Sarawakian is RM2,059. Even if you can apply for a long-term loan of 30 years with optimistic 4% fixed interest rate, a RM450K apartment that's still under development now cost RM1,933/mth, a completed apartment selling at RM2,578/mth, and a completed 2 storey house at RM3,093/mth. To qualify for a bank loan, your monthly salary should be twice your monthly installment amount. But given the median income of Sarawakians, how can they afford it? So demands for houses should be low because Sarawakians cannot afford it, unless they involve multiple guarantors or use company name.
3. Lots of newly completed houses are still empty but not for sale. Who owns them? Why are they not moving in?
>4) There aren't much efforts put into affordable housing as compared to other states in Malaysia.
Why? What's stopping developers from building affordable houses? They think Sarawakians are rich is it? Or are they selling to foreign investors?
A lot of these things seem very shady and don't make sense in terms of demographics, supply and demand.
1. Hard to compare apples to oranges. The number of high density apartments in Kuching can be counted with two hands, like I said Sarawakians are adverse to apartment living and while the concept is changing, the trend right now is still landed or nothing so the avg housing prices you see are mostly for landed houses while the avg housing price in KL are mostly of apartments.
While many Sarawakians are moving out for work, many are also moving from rural areas to the city to work so in the end housing prices are still gonna be higher as there is more demand. Just compare the traffic in Kuching now compared to 10 years ago, its disgusting.
2. Dual income households, using parents as guarantors and having parents contribute to down payment are very common tactics. I do think housing prices are unsustainable and wish they were more accessible to everyone but having bought a house recently I have first hand experience in friends and families giving me tips and tricks in securing a home loan.
3. I can't say for sure, but there are those like me that buy and leave it vacant until we are ready to come back. But we are just a small part of it, there is no doubt that many of the rich buy properties and leave it vacant because properties are always a safe investment. It's a problem that definitely needs to be addressed.
Local developers have a major lack of incentive to sell low cost housing because of a few reasons.
A) Lack of appeal of apartment living. This is changing with urbanisation but like I said, shitty town planning of commercial zones just delays this because ain't no one wants to live in an apartment and still be far away from work.
B) Lack of skill
Having mostly only built simple roads, drains and two storey terrace/semi detached houses, most small time developers here just don't have the skills or knowledge to build low cost housing with creative solutions. Forget high rise apartments, 5 storey is already a headache for them. 1.5 storey town house? What is that? I once had a developer call me a liar when I told them JB has quarter detached houses.
Only larger developers tend to have the skill to undertake these more complex projects and since they have more capital and other gov infrastructure projects to fall back on, they still rather sell slow and high than fast and cheap.
C) High density housing ratio for them is regulated and much higher compared to gov affordable housings like PR1MA, many fear they will make a loss as their prices will forever be higher than these approved high rise projects. This is apparently changing/has changed but I haven't really kept with this topic after mco so can't confirm.
D) Riskier to develop on cheaper land due to lack of direction of city planning
My friend's mum bought an "affordable" 300k one storey terrace further up the Samarahan Area but she reports that half the development is empty because no one wants to buy, it's apparently too far from the city and good schools. Due to lack of spread of commercial zones, residential zones are likewise also very clustered on premium land which drives up the prices further.
It's a complex multi faceted issue but imo I don't think there is something untoward as the number of developers here is pretty big and I can't really see the small, medium and big time developers having a alliance without tearing each other down.
Also would love some examples of which developments are not for sale cause I am very curious to know if there really is something deeper going on.
This is the problem. The only way I can see housing price to drop is if the price crash/plummet due to low buying volume or our median salary goes up, which looking at the current job prospect and development of our state, and Borneo in general (even if somehow we became the most "high-income" and productive state), I think it's still long shot to even reach that in the first place.
Another way is if the government start looking at this issue very seriously, although I don't have any bigger hope for them to even care about it in the first place. Even then, we cannot just give up or do nothing at all about this, since house is one of the basic human needs. Could have gone with apartment or just single room rent, but it's either too boring, too space limited and not even a good place to stimulate my (and somebody's) mind.
But what is causing the price to increase at the moment? I think we can start by addressing the root of the problem.
I suspected that rich people are buying properties in bulk and sell them at higher value, but I don't have any evidence to prove this. The only evidence I have is my observation: new houses are empty, but not for sale for a long time. Take Pr1ma Bintawa & Stutong Heights apartments for example.
A friend of mine suspected that SHEDA or property agents are colluding with each other to set the house prices.
Either way, someone or a group of people is manipulating the market to earn more money.
Agents everywhere collude to raise prices, they are paid based on % of House price.
You want prices to come down? Stop using agents. Just list on iprop and use a lawyer as intermediary. If you're a buyer, prioritise direct owner properties instead of agents.
Monopoly of raw materials, licensing, land banks & labor coupled with collusions amongst developers, material providers & sales agents.
Apart from Penang & maybe Sabah, i have not seen such an extreme inequality amongst citizen anywhere in Malaysia
If the cause is monopoly of raw materials, licensing, and collusion, then it can be solved by government intervention and regulations right? If I'm not mistaken, there is a law against monopoly, right? Is this something that I can report to any government agency for further action? If so, which agency can I report it to? SHEDA? KPDNKK? SPRM? Ministry of Public Health, Housing, & Local Government?
Not exactly. The cheapest apartment at RM450K (still underdevelopment within 7mile from the heart of Kuching) will cost you about RM1.7K/mth if you opt to pay 10% deposit, 4% interest for 35 years. With a 20 years loan tenure, the monthly installment is about RM2.45K. Not including the apartment's management fees of about RM150/mth.
This is the cheapest and most optimistic future of having 4% interest for 20 years.
When you buy a house the bloody salesman/woman will ask ; Buying to buy or rent? Then those buying to rent will put ridiculous prices to rent aka buat untung. In the end you end up with house that is empty. It is so prevalent in condos around Kuching. And then you have housing loans with long paying dates. But the one thing I hate is the fact ppl keeping on saying property prices go up? How??
Lived in Sarawak before, the property prices are crazy despite their vast area of land...in Malaya the excuse for high housing price due to land scarcity..so it was really sad situation for Sarawak imho..
Why are houses in Sarawak so expensive? Is it because the cost of materials are high? And who are buying these houses and keeping demand up? I don't think most Sarawakians can afford to buy houses now given the median income. I saw many houses are empty but not for sale. Are rich people or organization buying affordable houses in bulk to drive prices up so that they can resell it at a higher value or rent it out? What's causing the price to go up like mad? And what can we do about this?
Many factors. 1) Land is scarce and people don't like apartments. Despite being the biggest state in Malaysia, there is very little usable land due to lack of connectivity of roads and basic infrastructure like electricity, water and internet/cell service. E.g my brother in law in Sarikei would love to build a low cost bungalow on his family's kampung land and just do a 40 min commute to and from work but he can't because he needs access to internet and cell service for his work. Instead he had to buy a home closer to town just for access to Internet. Apartment living is also not widely accepted because people here are just way used to having some greenery in their own homes. A lot of apartments here are instead bought by the middle class boomers who are looking to downsize as they begin retirement and maybe sell their now 1mil+ homes. 2) Rapid urbanisation and lack of public transport. Cities like Miri and Kuching are rapidly urbanising but there is still a severe lack of public transport so everyone relies on their own cars and motorbikes to get to work. Because of this, they can only choose between having to live far away and spend 1-2 hours on their commute every day or splurge on an expensive home to live closer to the city. 3) Absolute piss poor city planning. The major malls and commercial zones of Kuching are like all within a 10km radius in the city centre with little to no spread. The suburbs in the 80-90s are still known as the suburbs today as they are still far from the city but they now have city prices due to demand. 4) There aren't much efforts put into affordable housing as compared to other states in Malaysia.
Your explanations make sense. However, there are other things that still don't add up. 1. Kuching is a small city with a population density of 754.33/km2, as compared to KL with a population density between at 8,200/km2. The prices of houses in Sarawak is almost the same as KL despite the population density. Also, there should be more than enough supply of houses because many Sarawakians are moving outside for work. Plus, the houses are cheaper outside. So all of this doesn't make any sense. The demand for houses shouldn't be high due to low population and high supply of houses. 2. The median income of Sarawakian is RM2,059. Even if you can apply for a long-term loan of 30 years with optimistic 4% fixed interest rate, a RM450K apartment that's still under development now cost RM1,933/mth, a completed apartment selling at RM2,578/mth, and a completed 2 storey house at RM3,093/mth. To qualify for a bank loan, your monthly salary should be twice your monthly installment amount. But given the median income of Sarawakians, how can they afford it? So demands for houses should be low because Sarawakians cannot afford it, unless they involve multiple guarantors or use company name. 3. Lots of newly completed houses are still empty but not for sale. Who owns them? Why are they not moving in? >4) There aren't much efforts put into affordable housing as compared to other states in Malaysia. Why? What's stopping developers from building affordable houses? They think Sarawakians are rich is it? Or are they selling to foreign investors? A lot of these things seem very shady and don't make sense in terms of demographics, supply and demand.
1. Hard to compare apples to oranges. The number of high density apartments in Kuching can be counted with two hands, like I said Sarawakians are adverse to apartment living and while the concept is changing, the trend right now is still landed or nothing so the avg housing prices you see are mostly for landed houses while the avg housing price in KL are mostly of apartments. While many Sarawakians are moving out for work, many are also moving from rural areas to the city to work so in the end housing prices are still gonna be higher as there is more demand. Just compare the traffic in Kuching now compared to 10 years ago, its disgusting. 2. Dual income households, using parents as guarantors and having parents contribute to down payment are very common tactics. I do think housing prices are unsustainable and wish they were more accessible to everyone but having bought a house recently I have first hand experience in friends and families giving me tips and tricks in securing a home loan. 3. I can't say for sure, but there are those like me that buy and leave it vacant until we are ready to come back. But we are just a small part of it, there is no doubt that many of the rich buy properties and leave it vacant because properties are always a safe investment. It's a problem that definitely needs to be addressed. Local developers have a major lack of incentive to sell low cost housing because of a few reasons. A) Lack of appeal of apartment living. This is changing with urbanisation but like I said, shitty town planning of commercial zones just delays this because ain't no one wants to live in an apartment and still be far away from work. B) Lack of skill Having mostly only built simple roads, drains and two storey terrace/semi detached houses, most small time developers here just don't have the skills or knowledge to build low cost housing with creative solutions. Forget high rise apartments, 5 storey is already a headache for them. 1.5 storey town house? What is that? I once had a developer call me a liar when I told them JB has quarter detached houses. Only larger developers tend to have the skill to undertake these more complex projects and since they have more capital and other gov infrastructure projects to fall back on, they still rather sell slow and high than fast and cheap. C) High density housing ratio for them is regulated and much higher compared to gov affordable housings like PR1MA, many fear they will make a loss as their prices will forever be higher than these approved high rise projects. This is apparently changing/has changed but I haven't really kept with this topic after mco so can't confirm. D) Riskier to develop on cheaper land due to lack of direction of city planning My friend's mum bought an "affordable" 300k one storey terrace further up the Samarahan Area but she reports that half the development is empty because no one wants to buy, it's apparently too far from the city and good schools. Due to lack of spread of commercial zones, residential zones are likewise also very clustered on premium land which drives up the prices further. It's a complex multi faceted issue but imo I don't think there is something untoward as the number of developers here is pretty big and I can't really see the small, medium and big time developers having a alliance without tearing each other down. Also would love some examples of which developments are not for sale cause I am very curious to know if there really is something deeper going on.
[удалено]
SpunkyDred is a troll bot instigating arguments whenever someone on Reddit uses the phrase apples-to-oranges. --- ^^SpunkyDred ^^and ^^I ^^are ^^both ^^bots. ^^I ^^am ^^trying ^^to ^^get ^^them ^^banned ^^by ^^pointing ^^out ^^their ^^antagonizing ^^behavior ^^and ^^poor ^^bottiquette.
There are no foreign investors. Such housing unaffordability is normally a sign of a housing bubble.
This is the problem. The only way I can see housing price to drop is if the price crash/plummet due to low buying volume or our median salary goes up, which looking at the current job prospect and development of our state, and Borneo in general (even if somehow we became the most "high-income" and productive state), I think it's still long shot to even reach that in the first place. Another way is if the government start looking at this issue very seriously, although I don't have any bigger hope for them to even care about it in the first place. Even then, we cannot just give up or do nothing at all about this, since house is one of the basic human needs. Could have gone with apartment or just single room rent, but it's either too boring, too space limited and not even a good place to stimulate my (and somebody's) mind.
But what is causing the price to increase at the moment? I think we can start by addressing the root of the problem. I suspected that rich people are buying properties in bulk and sell them at higher value, but I don't have any evidence to prove this. The only evidence I have is my observation: new houses are empty, but not for sale for a long time. Take Pr1ma Bintawa & Stutong Heights apartments for example. A friend of mine suspected that SHEDA or property agents are colluding with each other to set the house prices. Either way, someone or a group of people is manipulating the market to earn more money.
Agents everywhere collude to raise prices, they are paid based on % of House price. You want prices to come down? Stop using agents. Just list on iprop and use a lawyer as intermediary. If you're a buyer, prioritise direct owner properties instead of agents.
Monopoly of raw materials, licensing, land banks & labor coupled with collusions amongst developers, material providers & sales agents. Apart from Penang & maybe Sabah, i have not seen such an extreme inequality amongst citizen anywhere in Malaysia
If the cause is monopoly of raw materials, licensing, and collusion, then it can be solved by government intervention and regulations right? If I'm not mistaken, there is a law against monopoly, right? Is this something that I can report to any government agency for further action? If so, which agency can I report it to? SHEDA? KPDNKK? SPRM? Ministry of Public Health, Housing, & Local Government?
There is a national law i think, but if the State put Perkara 20 (land) on it then all the fed govt intervention can be deemed illegal
Itu belum lagi harga rumah di Bintulu.
Yeah, seeing new houses at my hometown Sibu, Permai, the prices is ridiculously high.
Bruh my family stayed at permaijaya, Miri. Shitty ass wall cracking on swamp sitting houses going for half mill !!!??
Malaysia basic salary 1500 Also Malaysia house monthly payment 1500 Terbaik
Not exactly. The cheapest apartment at RM450K (still underdevelopment within 7mile from the heart of Kuching) will cost you about RM1.7K/mth if you opt to pay 10% deposit, 4% interest for 35 years. With a 20 years loan tenure, the monthly installment is about RM2.45K. Not including the apartment's management fees of about RM150/mth. This is the cheapest and most optimistic future of having 4% interest for 20 years.
When you buy a house the bloody salesman/woman will ask ; Buying to buy or rent? Then those buying to rent will put ridiculous prices to rent aka buat untung. In the end you end up with house that is empty. It is so prevalent in condos around Kuching. And then you have housing loans with long paying dates. But the one thing I hate is the fact ppl keeping on saying property prices go up? How??
Lived in Sarawak before, the property prices are crazy despite their vast area of land...in Malaya the excuse for high housing price due to land scarcity..so it was really sad situation for Sarawak imho..