Home ownership for liveable city: case study of Kajang City, Malaysia

Abstract

Home ownership is one key factor of the principles of livability towards achieving liveable city. In addition, there are also many factors affecting home ownership which includes income, location and accessibility factor. Various issues have been discussed by the Government of Malaysia in addressing the concern of home ownership, especially for the middle- and low-income groups in many cities in Malaysia. Using the case of Kajang city, this article aims to achieve the objective of identifying the major factors affecting home ownership for liveable city focusing the middle-income earners. Purposive sampling was used and in-depth interviews method were conducted with 41 potential homebuyer, 60 homeowners and 20 housing experts representing the Federal Government agencies, State Government agencies, Municipal Government, Developers, Banks and Real Estate-Related Consultant. The result of the study shows that the main factors affecting home ownership are income, housing loan scheme, location, government role, developer role, PR1MA affordable housing scheme, construction cost, Bumiputera quotas, lifestyle, quality of life, real estate investment and transfer, assessment/property tax, land ownership by foreigners and ownership title. The findings show that the Kajang City is an example of a city that can contribute to the affordable housing strategy requirements towards achieving liveable city. The findings also will help key stakeholder in addressing the main issues of housing affordability in the State of Selangor.