KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — The Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government plans to enforce a new condition to curb property speculation, said its Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.
He said property developers who intended to make bulk sales of more than four units must obtain prior approval from the Controller of Housing.
The ministry is talking to Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association of Malaysia (Rehda) and is expected to announce the measure in a month’s time, Abdul Rahman said.
The new enforcement would be prescribed as a mandatory requirement in every advertisement and sale permit for housing development, he said at the launch of Sime Darby Property’s housing income index study here today.
“The government will continue its various measures to help the people own houses, and weed out unhealthy speculative activities in the housing sector,” he added.
The ministry, however, didn’t plan to undertake extreme measures to curb property speculation because the market had to work on its own mechanism, he said.
“It’s a free market. Prices should be determined by supply and demand,” he said.
The minister also said the government might raise the budget for MyHome scheme this year.
“If the project is well received, we could pump in more money,” Abdul Rahman said.
The government recently announced an allocation of RM300 million for the private affordable ownership housing programme, to be launched on April 1.
Under the scheme, the government will subsidise first-time buyers, who earn less than RM3,000 a month, up to RM30,000 to purchase low-cost houses.
Qualified applicants can apply online when more details are announced closer to the launch date, the minister said. — Bernama
