Budget 2027 could prevent RM1.8b worth of affordable homes from sitting empty, says Juwai IQI
The Malaysian Reserve, 5 October 2026
BUDGET 2027 could help address Malaysia’s affordable housing challenges through data-driven planning and new financing mechanisms, according to property technology group Juwai IQI.
Its co-founder and group CEO Kashif Ansari (picture) said Budget 2027 will be the first budget since the launch of the National Housing Policy 2026–2035 and will set the stage for subsequent fiscal measures aimed at boosting supply and addressing persistent market challenges.
“The first budget since the launch of the new National Housing Policy will set the stage for the eight budgets that will follow,” he said in a statement.
Ansari said data-driven planning could reduce unsold affordable homes by ensuring developments are built in suitable locations at appropriate prices.
“If data-driven planning reduces the number of unsold affordable homes by just 1,000 a year, then over the 10-year life of the policy, it would prevent nearly RM1.8 billion of affordable homes from sitting empty,” he said.
In terms of financing, he expects Budget 2027 to fund new financing mechanisms introduced under the policy, such as rent-to-own schemes, shared ownership models, and long-term fixed-rate mortgages.
Kashif said that the existing Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme (SJKP) approved guarantees for 27,000 Malaysians to buy their first home last year, adding that maintaining this annual rate over the next 10 years could benefit 270,000 households, or almost one million people.
He also expects the upcoming budget to promote modern construction technologies such as Industrialised Building System (IBS) and prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction to reduce construction costs and project timelines.
“We don’t know if the government will provide funds or incentives for prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction in particular in Budget 2027, but we are confident the budget will include funds for advanced construction technologies, and the faster we can begin to adopt them, the bigger the impact they will have,” he added.
According to him, achieving the policy’s target of delivering one million new affordable homes by 2035 remains attainable given Malaysia’s track record of producing an average of 100,000 units annually under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“Budget 2027 will start to turn the National Housing Policy from a plan into reality. If the government funds data-driven planning, new ways of financing, and modern construction in 2027, families will begin to feel the differences,” Kashif said.