The provision of adequate, decent and affordable housing for the people is imperative in the face of Malaysia’s rapid urbanisation. A better understanding of the housing market behaviour is crucial for decision-makers to formulate effective housing policies. Research on housing in developing nations has focussed primarily on the household expenditure patterns and tenure choice as the determinants of housing consumption. Other research has included various site and residential attributes associated with housing as an estimation of household demand parameters.

This paper investigates the perceptions and preferences of people living in the Northern Region of Malaysia as regards their present housing conditions and future housing aspirations. The variables analysed include preferred housing location in the future, housing types, affordability, social aspects and environmental quality. Such analysis could provide useful information to prospective developers in the current housing market.

The study found that Seberang Perai was regarded as a better location for housing development compared with Penang Island. Many planned to purchase a house costing RM100,000 or less in Seberang Perai within the next 5 years. Low-density type housing was a common choice among the people who also preferred their houses to be surrounded by greenery and located within 30 minutes from their work place.

A study was conducted to gauge the prospects and perceptions of potential property buyers in the Northern Region regarding their housing preferences including desired locations, types and affordability. The study involved a survey of 1,150 respondents in 11 locations in Southern Kedah, Penang and Northern Perak.

The survey method was adopted in this study because it allows for a systematic output structure in a variable by case matrix. The survey methods was considered advantageous in this study for 3 major reasons. Firstly, the survey method enables large aggregate data to be collected at relatively low cost. Secondly, both quantitative and qualitative-type data may be collected via this method. Lastly, this method usually produces relatively high response rate due to the anonymity factor.

The 11 sites selected for this study and their respective number of respondents is shown in Table 1. These locations were selected based on their travel-time distance to Seberang Perai, which is within 30 minutes. Every effort was taken to ensure a representative sample was engaged for the survey. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS.