How many years of the median household’s gross income the median house costs, state by state. Prices are NAPIC’s median for 2024; incomes are DOSM’s median for 2024. Figures checked 11 Oct 2026.
The median house sold for RM 354,780; the median household earned RM 7,017 a month, or RM 84,204 a year. That is seriously unaffordable on the bands below. No state is at 3.0 or below, the level BNM and KRI call affordable.
| State | Median house price, 2024 | Median household income, 2024 (a month) | Median multiple | Category | NAPIC sample (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melaka | RM 270,000 | RM 6,891 | 3.3 | Moderately unaffordable | 4,233 |
| Selangor | RM 452,000 | RM 10,726 | 3.5 | Moderately unaffordable | 20,422 |
| Terengganu | RM 300,000 | RM 6,627 | 3.8 | Moderately unaffordable | 2,639 |
| WP Putrajaya | RM 500,000 | RM 10,769 | 3.9 | Moderately unaffordable | 103small sample (n=103) |
| Perlis | RM 230,000 | RM 4,950 | 3.9 | Moderately unaffordable | 448 |
| Pulau Pinang | RM 350,000 | RM 7,386 | 3.9 | Moderately unaffordable | 6,937 |
| WP Kuala Lumpur | RM 523,000 | RM 10,802 | 4.0 | Moderately unaffordable | 6,000 |
| Negeri Sembilan | RM 295,000 | RM 5,591 | 4.4 | Seriously unaffordable | 5,279 |
| Kedah | RM 260,000 | RM 4,895 | 4.4 | Seriously unaffordable | 5,537 |
| Pahang | RM 270,000 | RM 4,975 | 4.5 | Seriously unaffordable | 4,737 |
| Perak | RM 265,000 | RM 4,687 | 4.7 | Seriously unaffordable | 9,638 |
| Johor | RM 450,000 | RM 7,712 | 4.9 | Seriously unaffordable | 14,716 |
| WP Labuan | RM 445,000 | RM 7,383 | 5.0 | Seriously unaffordable | 83small sample (n=83) |
| Sarawak | RM 380,000 | RM 5,504 | 5.8 | Severely unaffordable | 3,273 |
| Sabah | RM 365,000 | RM 4,890 | 6.2 | Severely unaffordable | 2,199 |
| Kelantan | RM 308,000 | RM 4,083 | 6.3 | Severely unaffordable | 1,978 |
Moderately unaffordable
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small sample (n=103)
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small sample (n=83)
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Median multiple = median house price ÷ (median monthly household income × 12). The multiple is rounded to one decimal place (halves up) and the band applies to the rounded figure.
Small sample: NAPIC’s 2024 median for WP Putrajaya rests on 103 sales and WP Labuan on 83, so treat those with care. NAPIC’s 2024 file lists Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan as “WP” (Wilayah Persekutuan, Federal Territory); its Q2 2026 file keeps “WP” for Putrajaya and Labuan but says plain “Kuala Lumpur”. We use “WP” for all three.
The median multiple comes from Demographia International. Bank Negara Malaysia and the Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) both use it for Malaysia, with 3.0 as the affordable line. BNM’s Annual Report 2016, Table 1:
“Median house price that is three times or less than the annual income of the median household (e.g. house price-to-income ratio of 3.0 and below).”
KRI Views 11/21, Table 1 (source: Demographia, 2020), sets out the four categories this page uses:
| Median multiple | Category |
|---|---|
| 3.0 and below | Affordable |
| 3.1 to 4.0 | Moderately unaffordable |
| 4.1 to 5.0 | Seriously unaffordable |
| 5.1 & above | Severely unaffordable |
KRI adds: “A median multiple of 3 and below signals that the housing market of an area is affordable.” The bands are written to one decimal place, so we round each multiple to one decimal place (halves up) and band that figure.
The second test BNM describes is the Housing Cost Burden. From the same BNM box:
“The approach is based on the rule of thumb by which housing expenditures of less than 30 percent of household income are deemed affordable.”
The calculator below uses that rule.
Enter your household income, down payment, rate and tenure. We find the highest price at which the monthly loan instalment is no more than 30% of that income, using the same loan formula as our home loan calculator.
Starting values: income RM 7,017, DOSM's 2024 median for Malaysia; rate 4.50%, Bank Negara Malaysia's average lending rate for commercial banks in August 2026 (all their loans, not only home loans). Put in your own figures.
Illustrative only. This is the 30% rule of thumb applied to a standard loan formula. It is not a loan approval, a bank offer or a quote. A bank looks at much more, including your other debts, your net income and its own rate. It also leaves out stamp duty, legal fees, insurance and upkeep, which are paid on top.
The starting rate, 4.50%, is Bank Negara Malaysia's average lending rate for August 2026. Source: Bank Negara Malaysia. Data and information are subject to Terms of Use for BNM Datasets.
This view mixes years.It divides NAPIC’s median price for one quarter, Q2 2026, by DOSM’s 2024 incomes, the latest there are. Incomes have probably risen since 2024, so these multiples likely overstate the true 2026 figure. A single quarter also has far fewer sales than a full year, and NAPIC’s recent figures can be revised as late records arrive. The 2024 table above is the like-for-like measure.
| State | Median house price, Q2 2026 | Median household income, 2024 (a month) | Median multiple | Category | NAPIC sample (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melaka | RM 280,000 | RM 6,891 | 3.4 | Moderately unaffordable | 768 |
| Selangor | RM 470,000 | RM 10,726 | 3.7 | Moderately unaffordable | 3,126 |
| Pulau Pinang | RM 345,000 | RM 7,386 | 3.9 | Moderately unaffordable | 1,153 |
| WP Kuala Lumpur | RM 510,000 | RM 10,802 | 3.9 | Moderately unaffordable | 1,096 |
| Terengganu | RM 320,000 | RM 6,627 | 4.0 | Moderately unaffordable | 609 |
| Negeri Sembilan | RM 280,000 | RM 5,591 | 4.2 | Seriously unaffordable | 858 |
| Pahang | RM 270,375 | RM 4,975 | 4.5 | Seriously unaffordable | 776 |
| Johor | RM 420,000 | RM 7,712 | 4.5 | Seriously unaffordable | 2,174 |
| WP Labuan | RM 410,000 | RM 7,383 | 4.6 | Seriously unaffordable | 30small sample (n=30) |
| Perlis | RM 280,000 | RM 4,950 | 4.7 | Seriously unaffordable | 59small sample (n=59) |
| Perak | RM 270,000 | RM 4,687 | 4.8 | Seriously unaffordable | 1,704 |
| Kedah | RM 284,405 | RM 4,895 | 4.8 | Seriously unaffordable | 1,022 |
| Sabah | RM 370,000 | RM 4,890 | 6.3 | Severely unaffordable | 537 |
| Sarawak | RM 420,000 | RM 5,504 | 6.4 | Severely unaffordable | 603 |
| Kelantan | RM 350,000 | RM 4,083 | 7.1 | Severely unaffordable | 483 |
| WP Putrajaya | RM 955,000 | RM 10,769 | 7.4 | Severely unaffordable | 18small sample (n=18) |
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small sample (n=30)
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small sample (n=59)
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small sample (n=18)
Small samples in Q2 2026: WP Putrajaya n=18, WP Labuan n=30, Perlis n=59. WP Putrajaya's 7.4 rests on 18 sales; its full-year 2024 figure is 3.9. Malaysia: RM 350,000 ÷ (RM 7,017 × 12) = 4.2.
Every price and income was read from these files by two separate checks that agreed on every value, on 11 Oct 2026. The multiples and categories are our arithmetic. This page reports what NAPIC and DOSM published; it does not forecast prices or say whether anyone should buy.
The median house price divided by the median household's income for a whole year. KRI puts it this way: "take the median free-market house price, then divide it with the annual median household income (gross)." A multiple of 4 means the middle-priced house costs four years of the middle household's gross income.
NAPIC's median residential price for the full year 2024, all house types, by state, and DOSM's median gross monthly household income for 2024 from the Household Income Survey, multiplied by 12. Both figures are for the same year, which is how BNM and KRI calculate it.
DOSM's household income survey is run every two years, and 2024 is the latest. NAPIC has newer prices (Q2 2026), but dividing a 2026 price by a 2024 income mixes years. The page shows that comparison separately and labels it.
To one decimal place, with halves rounded up, and the category applies to that rounded figure, because KRI writes its bands at one decimal place (3.1 to 4.0, 4.1 to 5.0). So WP Kuala Lumpur, 4.03 before rounding, shows as 4.0 and is moderately unaffordable, and WP Labuan, 5.02, shows as 5.0 and is seriously unaffordable.
No. It applies the 30% rule of thumb to a standard loan formula and is illustrative only. It is not a loan approval or a bank offer. Banks assess your other debts, net income and their own rates.
No. The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us or to any analytics service.