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Abstract
Hulu Langat District, which located in southern Selangor experienced urban sprawl from Kuala Lumpur metropolitan which ventures beyond the boundaries of its territory. The phenomenon of urban sprawl has fuelled the development of the real estate sector in the Hulu Langat district, causing the property prices in the suburbs to surge since 2010. The surge in real estate prices gives an impact on the economy of the Malays in the suburbs in which most of them are low- and middle-income earners. This paper reports a study that aims to examine the extent of the effects of rising in real estate prices to the economy of the Malays. The selection of Hulu Langat district due to its rapid surge in property prices and the majority of the residents are Malays. The study distributed questionnaires to 400 heads of Malay families living in the Hulu Langat district. The study found that in a situation of high-priced real estate, property ownership is still low among the Malays. Most of them are salaried job earners, and they need to have other jobs or work overtime to increase their income. They also need to change their spending practices and take austerity measures to increase their savings. Properties investment of the Malays in the district are moderate, yet, they are more interested in purchasing real estate elsewhere. The quality of life of the Malays deteriorating due to urban stress. They also need to reduce spending on education and health. Their satisfaction level in the aspects of safety is moderate. Thus, adaptation to living in high-priced real estate in terms of mental and financial strength is vital, or they should consider for migrating out and owning a property in other places.