MEDIA
 
MEDIA | ACARA

Positive housing measures
29 SEPTEMBER 2012 | SOURCE: THE STAR ONLINE


THE emphasis on affordable housing has been lauded by consultants and developers alike.

MKH Bhd (formerly Metro Kajang Holdings Bhd) group managing director Datuk Eddy Chen Lok Loi said as high as 80% of the houses built by MKH were in the affordable range of between RM300,000 and RM400,000 as outlined by the Government.

 

“The Government’s proposal to extend the 50% stamp duty exemption for the purchase of the first residential property of up to RM350,000 to 2014 will benefit our buyers,” said Chen.

 

He said the increase in income limit for individual loans from RM3,000 to RM5,000 per year, or joint loans between husband and wife of up to RM10,000 per month, was another positive move as this was the segment they were catering to.

 

On PR1MA providing the Housing Facilitation Fund totalling RM500mil to build houses in collaboration with private housing developers, Chen said this provision would help to reduce the property prices as this fund could be used for infrastructures which constituted 25% to 30% of the cost.

 

“If this facilitation fund can go towards the payment of infrastructures, it would certainly help to bring down the cost of housing,” he said, adding that developers should be exempted from having to build low-medium-cost housing priced at RM42,000 because the costs of building such houses were actually between RM120,000 and RM150,000.

 

Chen said this was a cost subsidy that every developer who built low-medium housing had to bear and this ultimately resulted in house prices being bumped up.

 

Hua Yang Bhd chief executive officer Ho Wen Yan said up to 90% of its housing were priced less than RM400,000 and the measures outlined fell smack into its category of buyers.

 

“We have been able to keep our prices down because we practise strict cost control. We also build in secondary areas like Selayang, Skudai and parts of Johor Baru and Ipoh. These are not prime areas, but are up and coming areas,” said Ho.

 

Another developer, Mah Sing Group Bhd, lauds the Government’s efforts in increasing housing affordability and reducing the cost of property ownership.

 

Managing director Tan Sri Datuk Seri Leong Hoy Kum said raising the My First Home scheme income limit from RM3,000 to RM5,000 for individuals, and for married couples of up to RM10,000 was practical for the middle-income group.

 

Concerning the Government’s plans to allocate RM1.9bil to build 123,000 affordable housing units in strategic locations in 2013, property consultancy CB Richard Ellis (M) Sdn Bhd executive director Paul Khong said it was a good move because many more citizens could now be proud owners of their first homes.

 

“However, the open balloting process must be done well and it has to be fair to all who qualify,” he said.

Valuer Elvin Fernandez from Khong & Jaafar group of companies said the country had already a low-cost housing system in place and the current emphasis on affordable housing would help to fill the gap.

Another analyst said the measures were people-friendly, as they would help a lot of people, especially first-time home buyers.

 

“The PR1MA initiative is commendable, as it would increase the supply of houses priced below RM400,000 per unit. Right now, it is tough to buy such houses unless they in the outskirts of the Klang Valley,” he said.

 
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