Kuala lumpur: ASEAN must take the lead in transforming its real estate sector amid rising geoeconomic volatility, irreversible structural shifts and rapid urbanisation, said Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming. Delivering his keynote address at the ASEAN Real Estate Conference (AREC) 2025 here today, Nga warned that the region is facing a 'perfect storm' of challenges, including supply chain disruptions, currency fluctuations and surging demand for urban housing.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Nga emphasized the urgency of the situation, citing data from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP). The data projects ASEAN's urban population to increase by 90 million by 2030, necessitating the construction of 10 to 12 million new housing units annually. At the same time, he said global uncertainties have dampened property sales, with luxury condominium prices in Ho Chi Minh City falling by eight per cent due to oversupply, while industrial real estate surged by 22 per cent, driven by shifts in regional manufacturing.
Nga highlighted the volatility in the construction sector, pointing out material price fluctuations, including steel prices that varied by up to 30 per cent. He also noted the Malaysian ringgit's movement, which fell to RM4.80 against the US dollar in April 2024, before recovering to RM4.20. 'These uncertainties complicate supply chain planning by altering the price of both imports and exports,' he noted.
Beyond short-term shocks, Nga outlined 'three irreversible shifts' impacting the region's real estate sector: the sustainability imperative, urbanisation paradox, and geopolitical repricing of global capital. 'Green features were once premium options, they are now minimum requirements from both regulators and consumers,' he said, adding that sustainable building materials now add up to 15 per cent to overall construction costs.
To future-proof the sector, Nga proposed the development of a flexible ASEAN housing model built on three core principles: data-driven planning, strong public-private-people partnerships, and context-sensitive solutions tailored to each member state's local realities. He mentioned Malaysia's Rent-to-Own (RTO) model as an example of maintaining accessible homeownership despite rising costs, with a goal to increase the national homeownership rate from 77 per cent to 80 per cent by 2030.
Nga also proposed the establishment of a Regional Housing Policy Lab to promote collaborative research and a shared ASEAN Urban Agenda Progress Dashboard to track affordable housing delivery and carbon reduction targets. As Malaysia currently chairs the UN-Habitat Assembly, he stressed that ASEAN must align its strategies with the New Urban Agenda to ensure inclusion, sustainability, and resilience in housing development across the region.
'Housing is not about brick and mortar. It is about dignity, about stability, about a shared future where no ASEAN citizen is left behind,' he concluded.