KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) will be announcing the new housing rules and policies once it has been finalised and approved by the Cabinet in the next one or two months.
Housing and Local Government Deputy Minister Datuk Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah today said the main focus will be on the issue of affordable homes.
“Affordable homes will be one of our priorities. This is a challenge for private developers and government agencies as the new system needs to be updated,” he said, when met after the official launch of ‘The People’s Property Expo’ by PropSocial.
He stressed that the issue of the central database on home ownership and distribution of these affordable homes are also important aspects, adding that it should be distributed equally according to the eligibility.
“With this, I would like to emphasise on how important a central database is.
“Without a database, how can we properly ascertain the demand for housing (and) to know the right status of eligibility,” said the deputy minister.
Raja Kamarul said a database will help identify Malaysians who have yet to own a house and those who already own several units.
“The central data will certainly help with demand-and-supply issues within the sector, especially for low-cost and affordable housing, as authorities and developers would have information on potential buyers,” he said.
He said in Kuala Lumpur, the industry is more challenging due to the demand from the young generation, especially newly-weds who find it difficult to own a new home.
Raja Kamarul said on the hand, financial institutions should also need to look at this matter in terms of eligibility for young couple/newly married to be able to own their own homes.
Moving forward, Raja Kamarul commented that the property market in Malaysia is still healthy although the industry has higher expectation and demand.
“We used to have a very lucrative real-estate market. When the industry is slowing down, people tend to feel that it is already softened,” he said.
He added that the industry is expected to show an improvement next year due to the new policy which will help to spur the property market further.
Today’s event held by PropSocial showcased new launches and developments by top developers.
PropSocial is the property website in Malaysia to feature honest reviews direct from the community, with an easy-to-use interface that will help users find their ideal property within minutes.
