Lifestyle Priorities and Homeownership Decisions among Malaysian Civil Servants: A Behavioural Finance Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/intrest.v20n1.483Keywords:
Behavioural finance, Malaysian civil servants, Financial management, Financial wellbeing, HomeownershipAbstract
The rising cost of living and property prices in Malaysia have intensified housing affordability challenges among civil servants. This quantitative cross-sectional study examines how lifestyle spending priorities, psychological and social factors, and perceived barriers and opportunities influence financial wellbeing and homeownership status, with financial management tested as a mediating mechanism. Data were collected through an online survey of 411 Malaysian civil servants and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, binary logistic regression, and Hayes's PROCESS macro with 5,000 bootstrap samples. The results show that 48.7% of respondents owned a home, while the largest income group earned RM3,000–RM4,999 per month. Financial management showed the strongest association with homeownership odds (OR = 2.18), whereas lifestyle spending priorities were negatively associated with homeownership (OR = 0.71). The financial wellbeing model explained 68.7% of the variance, while the homeownership model explained 29.4%. Mediation analysis indicated that financial management transmitted the effects of lifestyle spending priorities and perceived barriers and opportunities to both financial wellbeing and homeownership, while the indirect effects of psychological and social factors were less consistent. The findings support Mental Accounting Theory and Behavioural Finance Theory by showing that stable employment alone does not automatically translate into housing attainment when spending priorities, savings discipline, and perceived barriers shape the pathway to ownership. The study suggests that housing policy for civil servants should combine structural housing support with targeted financial management interventions.
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