KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 ― The rate of increase of housing prices dipped to 5.9 per cent in the second quarter this year from 12.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012, a federal minister said today.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan also said although prospective buyers may want housing prices to drop, a decline would not augur well for the economy.

“We also have to remember that we don’t want housing prices to drop to negative, which is when property is cheaper than the year before,” Abdul Rahman told Parliament here.

“There are many risks and it can affect the economy if there’s a deflation or if there are price drops from the year before,” he added.

He also said Putrajaya was trying to control property prices by offering more public housing in the market.

“We hope that with more supply, housing prices won’t spike,” said Abdul Rahman.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said earlier today that Malays, especially those from the bottom 40 per cent of wage earners, could not afford property in Penang and Selangor, among the country’s most developed states that are controlled by the DAP and PKR respectively.

Complaints about unaffordable property, however, come from Malaysians of all ethnicities in various states, including Johor under the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.