Examining Young Adults’ Perceptions of Housing Affordability in Sibu, Sarawak

Abstract

Housing affordability remains a major barrier to homeownership among young adults. Although empirical research on this issue in semi-urban Malaysia is limited, this study seeks to fill that gap by examining young adults’ perceptions of housing affordability in Sibu, Sarawak. It not only identifies the main affordability constraints but also evaluates how these relate to the perceived importance of homeownership. This study used a cross-sectional questionnaire survey involving 98 young adults in Sibu. The study analysed the data using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank-order correlation. The findings show that the main financial barriers were high property prices (41.8%), a high cost of living (28.6%), and low wages (19.4%). Most respondents (74.5%) considered homeownership important or very important. Spearman’s analysis showed a weak negative relationship between overall perceived housing affordability and the perceived importance of homeownership. However, the result was not statistically significant (ρ = -0.123, p = 0.229, n = 98). These findings provide useful insight into how young adults in semi-urban Sarawak perceive housing affordability. More importantly, they suggest that policy responses should not focus solely on housing prices. Equal attention needs to be given to the financial capacity of young adults, since affordability is shaped not only by the cost of housing itself, but also by their ability to manage that cost in practice.