Kuala Lumpur, 17 February 2014- Homes in selected areas in the Klang Valleyare still accessible to homeowners who maybe looking to upgrade or to invest in asecond home, according to a recent studyspearheaded by Sime Darby Property Berhadin collaboration with the Faculty of BuiltEnvironment, University of Malaya.

The first of its kind private-public collaborationin the housing and property industry, theSime Darby Property Housing-Income Indexwas developed to gain a better understandingof home owners' profiles, specifically theirhousehold income and spending patterns inrelation to owning a home in a total of12 selected locations mainly across theKlang Valley and Nilai. The locations wereBukit Jelutong, Denai Alam, Bukit Subang,Bandar Bukit Raja, Subang Jaya, USJ, PutraHeights, Ara Damansara, Mont Kiara, Melawati,Kajang and Nilai.

The Housing-Income Index found that themeanhousehold income of the respondents livingin these locations is around RM14,580 permonth. Taking into account the current householdspending trend, price of homes and mortgagerates, it was found that certain groupsof home buyers interested in these areascan have access to houses that are pricedat 56 times their household income. Thestudy also found that this same group canafford to spend up to 26% of their monthlyhousehold income to service a mortgage.

In addition, the study identified strategic areas in the Klang Valley that are considered not only accessible but have the potential to appreciate even further in value. These areas include Nilai, Denai Alam, Bukit Jelutong and Bukit Subang.

The Housing-Income Index was launched todayby YB Dato' Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Ministerof the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and LocalGovernment Ministry. The Index and its keyfindings had also been earlier reviewedby the Ministry.

Dato' Seri Abd Wahab Maskan, Managing Directorof Sime Darby Property, said, Given thatsustainability is a key driving factor forSime Darby Property, it stands to reasonthat more knowledge to support this qualitywould not only help us better serve theneeds of the marketplace but also help createa more informed home buyer.

With this in mind, the company took onthequest to gain a deeper understanding abouthome owners, starting with designated areaswithin the Klang Valley. A home is morethan a roof over our heads, and whetherone is buying or investing in a house, purchasinga property continues to be a priority formany individuals.

We chose the Klang Valley so we could leverageon our well-established track record aswell as our significant presence in thisprimary urban centre. The Index will serveto help existing and potential home buyershave a better gauge of certain locationsand homes within this dynamic urban centreand thereby enable them to make an informedassessment and decision when it comes topurchasing a home.

According to Dato' Seri Wahab, based on the findings 68% of Sime Darby Property's upcoming launches in the Klang Valley are considered to be in the accessible range.

He said that the Housing-Income Index isvery much in line with Sime Darby Property'scommitment towards best sustainable practicesand continuous contribution to the enhancementof the property industry, and the findingsoffer both Sime Darby Property and the industryat large invaluable market insights.

On our part, we intend to utilize the resultsto develop innovative, high quality productsthat are accessible and meet market needson a sustainable basis. We also plan toundertake the study of more locations nationwideand different segments of house buyers inthe future, he added.

The study has a sample size of 1,529 respondents.

The selected 12 locations were divided intofour regions with an ideal number of respondentssampled randomly within each region in orderto provide a good representation of thearea. The exercise was conducted via face-to-faceinterviews Associate Professor Dr. Sr NoorRosly Hanif, former Dean of Faculty of BuiltEnvironment, University of Malaya, who wasinvolved in the development of the Index,said, Findings from the study show thathomes in the Klang Valley are still accessible.This is after taking into account the steadilyrising income, savings rates and other sourcesof income of current home owners in selectedlocations within the region.

From the study, we found that this particularsegment of home owners, which consistedof those from the middle to upper incomegroup, with tertiary academic qualificationand who hold managerial posts, has excessincome to further invest in the propertymarket.