Developing a Business Case for Housing Governance

Abstract In the past 20 years, Malaysia's housing prices have steadily outpaced its residents’ incomes and outstripped inflation. The size of the property overhang is increasing. Costs and delays in housing construction are high. Foreclosures and dissatisfactions are becoming more frequent. Homeownership is sliding at approximately 1% annually. Consequently, governments have introduced various schemes and programmes and many policies have been formulated and implemented. Notwithstanding these measures, the housing market has remained increasingly volatile. Because of this, it is pertinent to revisit the literature and empirical proof to determine the relevance of the governance theory to advancing housing delivery. This study has two objectives. The first is to explain the roles of governance as a framework to increase homeownerships. The second is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) in affordable housing delivery. The results support the researchers’ hypothesis that the application of governance theory provides a fresh insight to affordable delivery. The results are useful to policy makers, developers, banks, consultants, housing associations and academics. This study lays the foundation for future research and for forming CSFs that will allow meaningful applications and interpretations of governance frameworks for different projects.