Homeownership is a milestone for all generations, but such a goal in today’s life may be more limiting than in previous times of home-buying.
If someone were to propose buying a house right now, the most probable reaction from a millennial would be absolute confusion. Not only will they start calculating how much they earn (post-pandemic economic recession cuts), how much they already are spending on necessities and life, they will also be counting existing savings.
So much goes into owning a house, so why are millennials still unprepared for such a big move?
Here might be some reasons why homeownership is difficult for millennials.
1. Work Wins.
The millennial generation has always been infamous for being renters, not buyers in the property circle. With city-dwelling being a high necessity for remote-based work, the nature of jobs being contractually-arranged instead of a long-term expectation, and the location of offices influencing decisions to commute, having a permanent fixture of a house but the fluidity of a professional career sometimes doesn’t line up.
Careers in our time have become an everywhere-and-nowhere deal. Where the previous generation could expect a 5-year or 10-year plan in the same workplace, working their way towards promotions and pensions, the same cannot be said for today’s employees. The increase of specialized skills, new media, automation, and outsourcing has affected the desire to invest in home-owning. Why spend on a permanent home if you’re not sure of being around for the next eight years at least?
2. Space’s Pace.
While large square foot layouts are always attractive, houses in Malaysia are built with traditional values of family in mind. Never mind the hyped up modern, tech-friendly houses that should be the best environment for a generation so intertwined with media and technology. Open floor plans, casual living environments, and cluster condos are all designed to accommodate people with very long-term goals.
Birth rates across the country have already noted a decline in numbers, and the ongoing uncertainty further dampens any plans to form new clusters of nuclear families. Investing in a house is an intentional upgrade, one that requires planning and ability. A permanent home space involves more than just being able to purchase it. It is also being able to afford the things and people that are going to fill it.
3. Debt, Duh!
Malaysia’s millennial generation is now at the forefront experiencing the hardest hits of a global recession. Many have student debt, car loans, or are unwilling to compromise on a dream travel piggy bank. Quite a few have also entered unemployment. The hefty bulk spending required for purchasing a house, moving out, and assimilating all new financial responsibilities all by themselves? Yeah, maybe not.
On a conversation if houses in the Klang Valley were indeed affordable, instead of being a disillusionment of the housing market imbalance (where ‘affordable housing’ projects keep being introduced but rarely reaching full capacity), real estate negotiator Natasha Gideon told The Edge Malaysia that homeownership was a calculated investment.
4. Marketing Madness.
The full effect of Malaysia’s current government introducing the Home Ownership Campaign that will run its course by the 31st of May 2021 has yet to be seen, especially with all these new economical setbacks. While intended to encourage young people to get on the property ladder, obstacles such as stamp duty tax, and the confusing scenario that is the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) which iProperty.com has voiced out concerns for here prove that there is still much to be done from a regulative perspective in homeownership.
Combined with a lack of general knowledge on the subject, getting down to homeownership may require strictly realistic approaches, as the room for a change of heart and dreams about owning a hype house as seen on social media can be costly regrets.
But to keep the property market afloat, renting is proving to maintain a strong relevancy as the other housing option. Traditionally owning a house may be for the older generation who had time to stabilize and save, but owning a house and living your best life can be on your own time to correlate.
Try co-living in the meantime! Chasing your professional career, building your social network, and having a place for you to come home and wind down in comfort and style is more achievable than you think. Hom is here to guide you into the newest generation of living, where your personal and professional life requires no compromise.
