Exploring Cultural Determinants of Tenure Decisions: Evidence from an Owning-Centric Context

• Main Authors: Hamzah, Hasniyati, Ismail, Mohd Nazari, Suawa, Rini Novelia
• Format: Article
• Published: Routledge 2024
• Subjects: HF Commerce; TH Building construction
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/45487/; https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2024.2326175

Most countries are still nations of homeowners, i.e. owning-centric despite home ownership being an economically irrational tenure due to its long-term financial risk. Seemingly, pre-existing social and institutional factors also shape people's tenure decisions, which supports a cultural explanation of tenure decisions. This paper frames the examination of tenure decisions from a cultural perspective in Malaysia, a Southeast Asian country with a strong home ownership tradition characterised by inflated house prices in its major cities and high household debts. A qualitative approach was adopted, involving a focus group discussion (FGD) and an open-ended online questionnaire survey (OQS). Two input categories (parental and societal) and five cultural determinants (filial piety, parental care, emulation, virtue signalling and status symbol) of tenure decisions were discerned. Considering the current trajectory of the global economy and local housing market, an honest reconsideration of the home ownership culture in Malaysia is proposed.