BANGI April 30: The launching of new housing projects has dropped in 2018 by 14.9% to 66,040 compared to 77,570 units in 2017, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
He said, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur had recorded a decrease in launching new projects by 56.1% and 9.9% respectively while Johor had shown an increase of 17.3% compared to the year before.
Guan Eng also mentioned that houses not sold (overhang) in 2018 increased to 30.6% at 32,313 units valued at RM19.86 billion while houses in the process of building and not sold had increased by 30.9% at 80,984 units compared to the year before.
“The high rise houses that are not sold contribute 43.45% mostly located in Perak about 2,905 and Kuala Lumpur with 2,692 units.
“For the commercial subsection, there is an increase of transactions by 8% in 2018 to 23,936 units while the value of transactions increased 16% valued at RM29.5 billion,” he said in his speech at the launching of the Property Marketing Report 2018 hosted by Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) here this morning.
The Finance Minister also stressed that the issue of houses not sold has to be resolved carefully and holistic steps should be taken and implemented.
“Unsold houses do not mean that the supply are more than the demand; as there are factors contributing to the situation like not matching, affordability and cost of living.
“It is about looking out for the suitable location, the right price and the right type to fulfil the suitable demand,” said Guan Eng.
Guan Eng also appreciates the JPPH’s effort to launch the Unsold Property Enquiry System Malaysia (UPESM) to give information on the land concerned at the local authority level.
From this initiative he said, the authority could decide perfectly on the approval or rejecting any building application.
At the same time Guan Eng reiterated, several government agencies have launched “brainstorming” sessions before launching any survey on first time buyers to determine the type of houses and the price affordable for them. – Malaysia World News
