Salaries not going up as fast as prices of homes

PETALING JAYA: When A.S. Gill bought his double-storey link house in SS12 in Subang Jaya back in 1985, it took about a quarter of his salary combined with that of his wife to realise their dream.

The house was RM200,000 but now it costs RM1mil.

“Today, I am estimating that youngsters would have to fork out at least 50% of their salary,” said the 63-year-old who is staying with his wife and their daughter. Their two other children are living overseas.

Gill, who is Subang Jaya Residents Association chairman, said house prices were going up every year with an increase of around 30% to 40% and this had created problems for the younger generation as their salary was lower than the inflation rate.

“Old link houses (in Subang Jaya) are about RM400,000 to RM600,000 while new ones cost between RM800,000 and RM1mil.

“More young people are buying old houses with the support of their parents,” he said.

First-time house buyer Marcus Leong said young adults specifically needed to compromise when it came to the choices of properties.

“If you want cheap and nearby the city, don’t expect it to be big. If you want big and cheap, don’t expect it to be nearby,” said the 31-year-old IT consultant.

Reluctant to say how much he paid for his house in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Leong simply said he was paying RM2,500 monthly for it and added that some were already buying landed properties in places as far as Semenyih.

National House Buyers Association honorary secretary-general Chang Kim Loong said it was difficult for couples to afford a house.

He said buyers should try to afford properties that were four times the value of their annual household income and it would be “seriously unaffordable” to pay more than that.