Malaysia’s Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government plans to work together with other stakeholders to think of ways to solve the oversupply of properties, especially the high number of unsold houses.
“The ministry is prepared to look into the issue with all parties such as the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), Finance Ministry, Federal Territories Ministry, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA),” said its Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar.
But the first step is to closely examine the root causes of this issue, such as a disparity of supply and demand for residential properties across different locations, he said during a parliamentary session on Monday (20 November).
In addition, Noh pointed out that around 83 percent of unsold dwellings are priced at RM250,000 and over RM1 million. The lion’s share comprises strata-titled homes costing more than RM250,000.
Meanwhile, a law has been proposed that will place all volunteer fire and rescue teams under the jurisdiction of his ministry, instead of the Registrar of Societies at present.
This will not result in the ministry taking over the over the assets of these groups, explained Noh, adding that these teams will still have the freedom to do their activities.
“We will strengthen the administrative regulations of the fire-fighting regime. It is easier for us to ensure the fire and rescue volunteers carry out their programmes as planned.”
However, Noh revealed that his ministry is facing difficulties in building more fire stations across the country, as some state governments, like Selangor, are selling land at a high premium.
“The price of the site is more expensive than building the fire station. We are doing it to benefit the people but the state is taking advantage.”
Image sourced from Malaysia Chronicle.
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
For the latest property news, trends, resources and expert opinions, visit our Property News section. Home buyers, sellers or property renters looking for Malaysian Properties, may like to visit the New Launches or Project Reviews page.