Nga: Big data system to guide housing development next year

The Housing and Local Government Ministry of Malaysia plans to launch a big data analytics system next year to aid housing developers in identifying the types, prices, and locations of homes required before commencing projects. This initiative, spearheaded by Minister Nga Kor Ming, seeks to tackle the persistent disparity between property supply and actual market demand, a primary factor contributing to Malaysia's housing overhang.

The system will amalgamate data from federal, state, and local authorities, encompassing details on regional income levels and housing requirements. Nga explained that the core issue in Malaysia's housing sector lies not in supply and construction, but in the lack of alignment between the offered products and what the market needs, resulting in an excess of unsold properties.

While the system will not be obligatory, developers have the option to join the platform to enhance the viability of their projects. Nga emphasized that such developers are astute and recognize the importance of not constructing homes that the market does not desire. In the future, the system is anticipated to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) to pinpoint appropriate housing products and price points for specific areas.

Nga pointed out that a data-driven approach would enable a more nuanced interpretation of "affordable housing," moving away from a rigid RM300,000 benchmark that fails to consider regional variations in income and property values. He stressed the need for big data to enable developers to construct homes according to a definition that more accurately reflects the reality of the market.

Moreover, the ministry aims to utilize the gathered data to regulate development approvals in regions already grappling with significant oversupply. Nga indicated that if Zone A is already significantly oversupplied, the ministry could mitigate further expansion by imposing restrictions. Under the National Housing Policy 2026-2035, the ministry aims to deliver one million affordable homes by 2035, based on genuine demand, harnessing technologies such as AI, big data, and industrialized building systems.