Eco-Innovations in Housing Delivery: A Case of Malaysia

In the past decade, the residential property market in Malaysia has been slumping. Despite the rapid growth in population and creation of new households, the sales performances have been poor; affordable housing units were flooding the market, and residential overhang have increased. While many developers were not able to perform optimally, few defied the norms and prevailed. This paper investigates the success factors of these developers by identifying the needs and wants of homebuyers and how these developers have fulfilled them. From May to June 2018, discussions were held with 11 housing developers in the overhang-ridden southern region of Malaysia. Findings revealed that the successful companies were those who incorporated eco-housing concepts. Though Malaysians do not really consider energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in their purchase decisions; they appreciate the visual pleasantness and comfort of green spaces in the housing estates despite being priced beyond the affordability range. To policymakers, this paper provides an example how green spaces may be incorporated into the development of social housing without compromising cost; and to private developers, this paper provides better understanding of homebuyers' green motivations and suggests how they should approach prospective homebuyers with better environmental design.