Young starters refer to those between 25 and 34 years of age who are establishing themselves in society (Zairul et al., 2015). Traditionally, the housing pathways of young people in Malaysia follow the Renting-Owning trajectory, which was the experience of the Baby Boomers up until the Generation X cohort. An important workforce segment, the housing pathways of incumbent young starters may not parallel those of preceding young starters due to current economic uncertainties, challenging housing market conditions and changing preferences. Given this context and the non-linearity and chaotic nature of housing pathways, an examination into the housing pathways of Malaysia’s young starters is highly timely. This paper aims to provide an insight into the experiences and perceptions on housing pathways among young starters in urban Malaysia. A convergent mixed methods strategy was adopted to inform on the current housing tenure and perceptions on the mainstream tenures among young starters. The study area is the Klang Valley which is the development and economic centre of Malaysia and has been the focus of government policy and developer activity pertaining to housing. Results suggest a general perception and experience of unaffordability in home ownership among the respondents, despite general preference and inspiration to own. Although renting is still a viable alternative, psychological and social resistance had led to a prolonged period of living with parents and/or family members. The current housing supply overhang suggests that non-affordability to buy and non-willingness to rent are signals to rethink the mainstream tenure offerings and venture into types of alternative tenures.

年轻的初学者是指年龄在25至34岁之间，正在社会中立足的年轻人（Zairul等，2015）。传统上，马来西亚年轻人的住房途径遵循租赁轨迹，这是婴儿潮一代直到X代之前的经历。一个重要的劳动力领域，由于当前的经济不确定性，充满挑战的住房市场条件和不断变化的偏好，现任年轻初学者的住房途径可能与以前的年轻初学者的住房途径不符。考虑到这种情况以及住房途径的非线性和混乱性质，对马来西亚年轻初学者的住房途径进行检查是非常及时的。本文旨在提供对马来西亚城市年轻入门者在住房途径方面的经验和看法的见解。通过了一种融合的混合方法策略，以告知当前的住房使用权以及对年轻初学者的主流使用权的看法。研究区域是巴生谷，它是马来西亚的发展和经济中心，一直是与住房有关的政府政策和开发商活动的重点。结果表明，尽管普遍偏爱和启发了自己的购房意愿，但受访者普遍对住房负担能力不高的看法和经验。尽管租房仍然是可行的选择，但心理和社会抵制导致与父母和/或家庭成员长期生活。