Younger buyers need clearer ownership routes while age-different households weigh how a home’s location supports everyday life 

The cost of a home does not end with its purchase price. It also shows up in the time spent getting to work, the expense of driving children to school and the distance to shops and public transport. A larger home at a lower price may seem attractive but the savings can become less convincing when the location adds travel costs and hours on the road.

These everyday considerations are shaping the questions developers say they hear from buyers. At the StarProperty Budget 2027 Roundtable, industry leaders described households weighing price and floor space alongside access to jobs, amenities and transport. 

Their discussion raised a broader challenge for housing policy in helping people buy homes in places that meet their needs as their families, finances and routines change.

Glomac Bhd group executive director FD Idzham said purchasers in mature townships now include the second and third generations of families buying there. 

“They calculate per square foot of how much the property is but also how it is actually accessible to get to certain places.” His point was that buyers still consider the price and size of a home; they also want to know what living there will require of them.

That means testing a township against an ordinary week. Can residents reach work without an exhausting journey? Are schools accessible? Is there public transport nearby and somewhere to shop or spend time with family over the weekend? Idzham argued that housing, transport and employment hubs should be planned together from the outset. For developers, the proposition extends beyond the unit: they must show how its location helps a household organise its life.

Different path to ownership

The decision to buy is changing too. UEM Sunrise Bhd chief financial officer Hafizuddin Sulaiman raised concern about younger people’s priorities, based on his conversations with them. “They don’t typically prioritise home ownership as a high priority in their life goals,” he said. He called for more education about ownership and guidance on how to achieve it.

Idzham agreed that some younger adults delay buying but offered a more specific explanation. “They do not prioritise home ownership just because they don't actually know how.” He described a former colleague who struggled to navigate the process of purchasing a home for his sister. The example suggests that apparent reluctance should not automatically be read as a rejection of ownership. Buyers may want a home yet remain unsure about financing, upfront costs or the steps involved. 

Price remains a substantial barrier. Elsewhere in the discussion, Idzham said the upfront deposits were a recurring difficulty for first-time buyers he encountered, even when they felt able to manage monthly payments. Education could make the journey clearer but it cannot by itself close a financing gap. If policy aims to help younger households buy, it needs to address both.

Developers also need to recognise that young first-time purchasers are only one part of the market. Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd property development and commercial co-chief executive officer Chai Keng Wai urged the industry to look at upgraders whose families need more room and older owners who may want smaller homes with easier access to transport. “Affordability goes beyond house prices,” he said. 

Cost of living beyond the home

Official household spending figures give weight to this broader view of affordability. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s latest Household Expenditure Survey Report, covering 2024 and released in October 2025, mean monthly household consumption expenditure stood at RM5,566. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels accounted for 23.5% of expenditure while transport represented another 11%.

For buyers weighing one location against another, these recurring costs deserve attention alongside the purchase price. A lower-priced home may leave less room in the household budget if living there means longer drives and higher travel expenses. Access to work, schools and everyday services is therefore part of the affordability calculation.

Selling a connected life

For AYER Holdings Bhd group chief executive officer Joanne Lee, buyers are becoming more informed and selective. She said purchasing decisions are influenced by affordability and location, alongside public transport, digital connectivity, sustainability and amenities rather than just the property size alone. 

That places pressure on developers to make lifestyle claims tangible. A promised connection is less persuasive than a usable route; a proposed amenity matters differently from one residents can already reach.

The implications reach beyond individual projects. Sime Darby Property Bhd township development chief operating officer Appollo Leong said a successful township depends on a wider corridor of industrial, commercial and residential activity.

A developer may plan its own land carefully but jobs and transport links often depend on decisions made across a much larger area. As he put it: “We, as private developers, can only do so much.”

Township master plans should therefore address what residents will need from the day they collect their keys. When will connecting roads open? How will households reach the nearest station? Will early residents have access to shops and services, or spend years driving elsewhere while the township takes shape? Coordinating housing delivery with infrastructure would help close the gap between the lifestyle buyers are promised and the one they experience.

Housing support also needs to reflect different stages of life. A first-time buyer may need help understanding financing and meeting the upfront deposit. A growing family may need another bedroom without moving far from school or work. An older couple may want a smaller home close to shops and public transport so they can manage daily errands more independently.

Ahead of Budget 2027, these are practical needs for developers and policymakers to address together. Buyers still need enough space at a price they can afford. They also need to get to work, take their children to school and buy groceries without every journey becoming a burden. How well a home makes those routines possible is part of its value.

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