In a bid to provide shelter to more people, particularly poor and needy families, Malaysia’s Housing Ministry intends to construct one million units of affordable houses over the next 10 years, reported Bernama.
For starters, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said that her agency will coordinate all residential developments with Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) to build 100,000 units of affordable dwellings per year starting in 2019.
“The 100,000 units will comprise affordable homes for all, especially those in the B40 group (bottom 40 percent of income earners) so that they too can own a house.”
“The location and number of houses for each state will be determined soon after we have discussed the matter with the respective state governments,” she told the media after the opening ceremony of the Penang Property Expo at George Town on Saturday (5 Jan).
Other high-ranking officials that attended the Penang Property Expo include Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and Datuk Soam Heng Choon, President of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA).
Despite plans to construct 100,000 low-cost houses per year, Zuraida thinks that this will not worsen oversupply of residential properties, as the existing unsold properties will be marketed via home ownership expositions to be held starting in January.
“The ministry, REHDA and developers have discussed to hold the expositions on house ownership to sell the unsold houses,” she noted.
Moreover, Zuraida revealed that the Housing Ministry is in talks with several banks and lenders to come up with ways to help B40 families get access to credit so they can purchase residential properties.
“Those in the low income group can afford to pay the monthly instalments. Their problem is coming up with the deposit payment, so we are discussing with the financial institutions to find a solution to this.”
“The ministry is also discussing with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and housing investors that agree to come forward to provide financing scheme,” she noted.
Image source: Malay Mail
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