BALANCING AFFORDABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY: UNVEILING HOMEBUYERS’ PREFERENCES FOR GREEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRITERIA AND FEATURES

Green Affordable Housing (GAH) embodies a balance between affordability and sustainability in housing development. In Malaysia, the Green Building Index (GBI) outlines green housing criteria across six key areas: energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, sustainable site planning and management, material and resource efficiency, water efficiency, and innovation. Similarly, the National Housing Policy (NHP) emphasizes affordability through income and housing price criteria. This study aims to align these frameworks by integrating GBI and NHP standards with GAH features identified in prior research. Logistic regression analysis of potential homebuyers' data revealed that 75.8% of respondents are willing to pay a premium for GAH features, with an acceptable cost increment of up to 10%. Top preferences include water-efficient fixtures (62.5%), rainwater harvesting systems (61%), and improved indoor environmental quality, such as low-noise designs (61.7%) and reduced volatile organic compounds (58%). The study highlights that incorporating green features into affordable housing is viable if cost increments remain reasonable, offering guidance for policymakers and developers to create sustainable and affordable housing solutions in Malaysia.