Buying a home will help you build your wealth because in general, property prices increase over a long period of time. Assuming that you hold on to your home for at least 30 years, then you can expect the value of your house to be more than what you originally paid. 

Although the price of housing will depend on factors such as how the economy is doing, property supply and demand, location and type of property, data from the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) shows that average home values have risen from RM100,000 in 1990 to around RM450,000 in 2018. 

In summary, when buying a home, you should consider long-term trends of property prices and buy to keep. You should avoid buying because you think property prices are low and you believe you can make money from selling the property by guessing when prices will be high. This is because property prices can go up, down or even stay the same in the short to medium-term, making it difficult to guess a ‘good’ time to buy or sell. 

If you are interested in analysing Malaysian property data, you can visit NAPIC’s website, which provides statistics including property prices and transactions by location and type of property. 

For more helpful information on buying a home, you can read our 8 Practical Tips When Buying a Home, and don’t forget to read our guide on What Home Can You Afford to Buy and try out our home loan calculators.