In Malaysia, everyone feels pressured to buy a house. "Better beli bila muda".

So I'm going to share my unpopular opinion.

Renting can be better than buying a house. Especially when you're young.

Reality is that our lifestyle will generally change every 5-7 years. When you're younger, change is quicker.

Change of jobs, kahwin, dapat anak, dapat penyakit, etc.

Let's say kau dengar cakap "pakar hartanah" dekat Twitter/Fesbuk utk beli rumah time muda.

Beli rumah dekat Shah Alam sebab murah + tak jauh sangat dari tempat kerja. Gaji rm2500, single, umur 25. Bangga dapat rumah.

Tapi kau pulak dapat offer kerja kat Semenyih. Gaji rm2800.

Tapi terpaksa tolak offer sbb jauh dari rumah. Travel costs lagi tinggi dari kenaikan gaji. Kalau rent, dah boleh pindah.

Bila kahwin, isteri kerja dekat Kajang.

Tapi sebab dah ada rumah dkt Shah Alam, terpaksalah dia travel jauh demi kerja. So setiap hari isteri penat + belanja banyak.

Few years later, ada anak. Kena fikir pasal sekolah yg bagus utk anak. Rumah cukup besar ke tak utk 2-3 anak? Kawasan rumah selamat tak utk anak?

Bila muda kita tak consider, fikir murah + ada asset. Bila tua menyesal.

Kena fikir opportunity costs. Kalau dah stuck dekat Shah Alam, terpaksa cari kerja kat situ je la.

Eventhough dekat Penang/Johor/overseas mungkin ada offer kerja dgn salary jauh lagi banyak.

Also, let's say dah tua atau cedera so susah nak naik tangga.

Rumah yg dibeli bila usia muda dah jadi hazard. Sebab tak boleh naik tangga. Bila lif rosak, tak boleh masuk rumah. So nak duduk mana?

When you're young, you make decision based on what makes sense at that time.

Most people bila beli rumah tak fikir pasal long-term needs. And our needs change based on our lifestyle and age.

So my advice, jangan beli rumah for personal use. Rent instead. This will give you the flexibility to adapt based on your lifestyle change.

Plus you save on maintenance costs + dapat pilih kerja yg gaji lagi tinggi.

Very important! What do you do with your savings on maintenance and better salary?

Make sure you invest! Even your standard 6% ASB can give you 400k - 1 juta+ by the time you retire. Boleh beli rumah dgn cash utk persaraan.

Note: Kalau nak beli rumah utk investment, carry on. But please do your research on your ROI and compare that with other methods of investment.

Yang penting, jangan ikut trend sahaja. Consider alternatives!

Final: Financial planning is different for each individual.

I'm not saying this is good for everyone. But you should consider renting instead of just following the housebuying trend.