# Urban Expert: Why Are There 1.9 Million Unsold Houses in Malaysia?

An episode of [Mr Money TV Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1784413228), 7 Jul 2026, 1 h 19 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/96fbb51c/podcast/play/121962492/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-5-25%2F426789247-44100-2-0ec1ddc11914d.mp3

In this episode, Peter sits down with Cha-ly, an urbanist, data scientist, and the CEO of Urbanometry , along with Sterling, the head of Urbii. Together, they pull back the curtain on Malaysia's massive 1.9 million vacant houses crisis , why our current transport spending is completely backward compared to the rest of the world , and the brutal reality of what happens when emotional biases completely blind us to hard urban and financial data. You've been told your whole life that buying a car is the ultimate milestone of adult success and freedom. But what if that very car and the heavy fuel subsidies keeping it running is actually a psychological trap draining up to 30% of your disposable income , leaving you stuck in a city built entirely for automobiles instead of people? Chapter Markers 00:00:00 - Teaser 00:00:33 - What is an Urbanist? 00:01:31 - Malaysia vs. Singapore: What’s Flawed With Our Urban Planning? 00:05:34 - The Last Mile Paradox: Why the Only Sustainable Transport is Your Legs 00:07:41 - Fuel Subsidies & The Psychological Trap of the Middle Class 00:11:00 - Bribing Employees to Give Up Cars: The True Cost of Car Ownership 00:13:19 - The 20% Public Transport Crisis: Why Young People Lack Liberty 00:14:34 - Why Malaysians Spend More on Cars Than Housing 00:15:43 - Why Money Decisions are Emotional, Not Logical 00:18:33 - Car Ownership vs. Real Economic Necessity 00:22:01 - Inside Urbanometry: Tracking the Hidden Movements of the City 00:25:51 - Hidden Risks: Landslides, Floods, and the 30-Year Mortgage Trap 00:31:51 - The Poverty Paradox: Why the Vulnerable Reject Data 00:34:48 - Data is Not Strategy: Balancing Instinct with Hard Numbers 00:39:39 - Defying Banking Veterans Who Said It Would Fail 00:44:44 - The Mental Model for Risk: How to Survive Your Worst-Case Failures 00:54:50 - Analysis Paralysis: Why the Younger Generation is Terrified to Fail 00:59:02 - How the Competitive Game of Real Estate Has Shifted Forever 01:02:02 - How to Optimize Big Life Decisions Using Data 01:09:42 - What is Urbii? Turning 1.9 Million Vacant Homes into Active Communities 01:13:37 - The Truth About Fractional Co-Ownership & Refurbishment 01:16:42 - Open Houses & Neighborhood Walks: How to Get Involved #Urbanism #MalaysiaProperty #UrbanPlanning #CarOwnership #PublicTransport #RealEstateCrisis #Urbanometry #Urbii #PersonalFinance #MalaysianPodcast #BusinessPodcast

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