Buy house first, youths told

PETALING JAYA - These days, it has become a trend among the young who enter working life to place priority on owning a car instead of a home.

Perhaps buying a vehicle which gels with their current lifestyle is cheaper for them, compared to purchasing a house.

Nevertheless, Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association's (Rehda) immediate past president Datuk Ng Seing Liong said the trend should be reversed.

"Buying a property, such as an affordable house, should be the main priority for youngsters and they should not wear out their salary on owning a car," he told Bernama when met at Wisma Rehda here yesterday.

Thus, he suggested that youngsters begin buying property early in their careers, especially for those located in hotspot areas.

"I understand that a car is a necessity for the younger generation, but bear in mind that property prices will always go up. Take this as an investment and in the meantime commute via public transportation," advised Ng.

He said there were affordable houses away from the city centre which were in high demand.

"Higher prices are only in the hot-spot areas, but it seems to reflect the whole market.

"If they look at the bigger areas, such as in Malacca, Pahang and Kelantan, the prices are still affordable."

He also explained that the property value rise could be attributed to "people are not just buying a house, but they are purchasing the lifestyle that comes with the property".

According to Rehda's Property Industry Survey for the first half of this year, the top five hotspots in the Klang Valley are Puchong, Cheras, Kota Damansara, Kuala Lumpur City Centre and Shah Alam, with landed property ranking at the top followed by condominiums and serviced apartments.

But it is beyond our means say youngsters