“The survey showed that in Kuala Lumpur, the provisional estimates of a living wage ranged between RM2,700 and RM6,500 per month.
It said the living wage for a single adult was RM2,700 per month; RM4,500 per month for a couple without children; and RM6,500 per month for a couple with two children.
...
The central bank also said the living wage estimates in Kuala Lumpur were below the median income (in Kuala Lumpur) of RM9,073, emphasising that up to 27% of households were earning below the living wage.
“In terms of household type, a larger share of single-adult households and couples with two children were earning below the estimated living wage in 2016, compared to couples without children.
“The finding for single-adult households is consistent with the fact that graduates with a first degree or diploma earn on average, starting salaries of RM2,207 and RM1,346 per month, respectively.””
A provisional living wage in KL as low as that? Let's not kid ourselves.
“Unsold housing units increased on an annual basis by 22.7% in 2017 (2016: 41%) to 129,052 units as at end-September 2017.
More than 80% of the unsold units were priced at RM250,000 and above.
Many of these units were high-rise residential properties and were mainly in areas located far from major economic centres and with limited public transport facilities.
“The high number of unsold housing units also reflects the persistent mismatch between the selling price of houses being built and what most households can afford,” according to the report.”
That's not sustainable for buyers.
“Bank Negara pointed out that activities in the commercial property segment (comprising shops, office space and shopping complexes) remained soft, amid an oversupply in these segments and challenges faced by businesses in the oil and gas (O&G) sector.
The volume of commercial property transactions declined by 8.2% (2010-2016 average: -4.7%) to 16,025 units during the first nine months of 2017. The value transacted nonetheless increased by 3.8% to RM17.8bil driven by higher transactions of properties priced RM1mil and above.
Slower activities in the commercial property segment were observed in most major states such as Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Penang.”
It's not hard to find empty shop-lots and empty malls (I'm typing this in Quill City Mall). And if people lose jobs because of bad business, who's gonna pay for those property purchases?