FREE MALAYSIA TODAY. 5TH OCTOBER: A property developer group has called for the affordable housing policy to be revamped in view of the number of unsold properties in the country.
This comes after housing and local government minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican revealed that a total of 27,468 new houses worth RM18.4 billion have not been sold in the first quarter of 2021.
Reezal Merican said the homeownership programme was expected to remain slow until the end of the year.
He said the reasons for the slowdown included a mismatch in supply and demand, as well as pricing, location and the uncertainties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) president Soam Heng Choon said while the pandemic had further highlighted the housing problem, overhang had been a constant issue in the past few years, and it will take more than the reopening of the economy to properly address its recovery.
“The mandatory policy of provision of affordable housing should also be relooked. Rehda is in support of the policy, but when the supply of this housing category has exceeded demand, or they are not favoured or taken up in certain locations, the policy should be reviewed to suit the current needs,” he told FMT.
Soam believed the establishment of a central agency to manage the property sector could address the housing issue.
“Rehda has always been of the view that one of the best means to control overhang is the establishment of one single entity to collect and collate data, which will then be shared with all industry players,” he said.
“For example, the data will allow all parties to have a clearer picture of the kind of residential types and prices that are suitable for a specific location. This minimises the possibility of introducing a residential development that is not well-received by the local community.”
However, he noted that the number of unsold properties had reduced gradually.
Citing data from the National Property Information Centre (Napic), he said the 27,468 residential units worth RM18.48 billion that were unsold in the first quarter of 2021 were indicative of the housing conundrum afflicting the industry.
Napic also reported that 29,565 overhang units worth RM18.92 billion were recorded in the last quarter of 2020, while the third quarter saw 30,926 unsold residential units worth RM19.99 billion.
“During the past two quarters, the numbers were on a downward trend, although marginally,” Soam said.
Meanwhile, National House Buyers Association (HBA) honorary secretary-general Chang Kim Loong believed it was the best time to buy properties.
“It is a buyers’ market now. Prices are low, and buyers should consider whether it’s for self-occupation or for investment.
“Buyers have lots of choices to look for completed property rather than risk ‘buying off the plans’. I’m sure buyers are concerned with the plight of victims of abandoned housing projects especially in these challenging times,” he said.