Buyers Of ‘Sick’ Projects To Receive Help To Restructure Loans, Selangor To Build One-Room Affordable Homes For Singles And, More
14th February – 20th February
Local Government and Development Minister Nga Kor Ming said the government will issue support letters to buyers of ‘sick’ projects to help them restructure loans taken to acquire the affected properties.
Meanwhile, single people in Selangor, especially those under 30, will have the opportunity to acquire one-room flats spanning 450 sq ft for RM14,750.
1. Buyers of ‘sick’ projects to receive help to restructure loans
Buyers of ‘sick’ projects will be issued support letters by the Government to help them restructure loans taken to acquire the affected properties, said Local Government and Development Minister Nga Kor Ming.
As of 31 January, Malaysia has 429 sick projects, which involve 70,727 homes, reported Free Malaysia Today.
Ng revealed plans to freeze the accounts of developers involved in sick projects to prevent irresponsible withdrawals.
Sick project developers as well as their board will also be blacklisted and banned from applying for new licences until the completion of their sick projects.
He added that development sites, where work has not progressed for a long time, will also be declared “abandoned”.
“We will also hold a talk for all developers in the peninsula to remind them of their responsibilities as licensed housing developers and encourage the use of industrial building systems to hasten project completion at a lower cost without affecting the quality of construction,” said Ng.
2. Selangor to build one-room affordable homes for singles
Single people in Selangor, especially those under 30, will have the opportunity to acquire one-room flats spanning 450 sq ft for RM14,750 under the Rumah Selangorku 3.0 affordable housing programme.
Rodziah Ismail, Chairman of State Housing, Urban Wellbeing and Entrepreneur Development Committee, revealed that the units will be built in Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam, providing those working in Selangor’s major cities a chance to have a place of their own, reported The Star.
“Unlike units in people’s housing projects (PPR) which are rented out, these Rumah Selangorku units will only be sold to those who are single,” she said.
However, the units will have to be surrendered to the state once they get married, with the state compensating the owner. Thereafter, they can then apply to acquire two- or three-room units under the Rumah Selangorku programme.
Rodziah underscored that singles are not prohibited from purchasing two- or three-room homes priced from RM153,000 to RM230,000.
She noted that the affordable homes are expected to be ready within three years.
3. PR1MA to build 4,000 affordable homes in Penang
Over the next five years, Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA), under the Local Government Development Ministry, will develop around 4,000 high-rise housing units in Penang.
With a gross development value of about RM1.25 billion, the mixed-use development projects will be built on two plots of land spanning 121.4ha, reported The Star.
The projects will boast sustainability features aimed at promoting inclusiveness, resilience, safety and liveability.
Currently, Penang has three PR1MA projects comprising 3,867 affordable units, with Residensi Pauh Permai completed in September 2021 and recognised as the best mass market high-rise development within the northern region.
“We realise there is an urgent need for more affordable housing in the country,” said PR1MA CEO Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Md Shariff.
“We aim to develop more high-quality housing in Penang and other strategic locations nationwide.”
Aside from building housing projects, Mohd Nazri noted that PR1MA is also responsible for the PR1MA community’s socio-economic development.
4. Nearly half of strata schemes in KL without management body
Data from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) showed that almost half of the capital city’s 5,500 strata schemes have no management body.
Majority of such schemes are low-cost flats that were built before the Strata Management Act came into force in 2007, said Zaleha Abdul Rahman, Deputy Senior Director of DBKL Property Management and Valuation Department.
“In terms of enforcement, the Act is relatively new compared to these strata schemes which were built way earlier,” she said, adding that many owners were not keen on taking up management role due to lack of knowledge.
DBKL, via the Commissioner of Building (COB), can identify several owners at such schemes to conduct an extraordinary general meeting in order to appoint the joint management body (JMB) or management committee (MC).
“If that fails, an agent can be appointed to manage the scheme,” said Zaleha as quoted by The Star.
The JMB and MC does not only oversee the maintenance of the strata schemes, they also resolve disputes among residents.
5. House buyer association calls for quarterly audits of housing projects
The National House Buyers Association wants housing projects that are under construction to be subject to quarterly audits to detect problems early and determine if they need government intervention.
Its Secretary-General Chang Kim Loong said the audits should be made by teams comprising accountants, architects and engineers, with the reports serving as a diagnosis of the health of housing projects.
He noted that while there are laws aimed at protecting house buyers, there has been no deterrent punishment imposed on wayward developers who produce sick projects, reported Free Malaysia Today.
“How many wayward housing developers have been prosecuted since 2015 to date? From what I understand, there are none. If the government fails to charge recalcitrant and wayward developers, this spate of sick and abandoned projects will continue,” said Chang.
Meanwhile, Jerry Chan, Penang Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association former chairman, believe sick housing projects are inevitable due to economic downturns.
With this, he suggested setting higher standards for new developers, with only those with distinguished track record allowed to undertake large projects.
6. Residential overhang shrinks 15.4% in Q3 2022, reflecting optimism for 2023
Malaysia saw the number of residential overhang decline 15.4% during the third quarter of 2022, reflecting optimism on the property market for 2023.
National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) data showed that residential overhang dropped from 34,092 units to 29,534 units, which is valued at RM19.95 billion, in Q3 2022, reported The Malaysian Reserve.
NAPIC Director Aina Edayu Ahmad said 31.6% of the total overhang units were priced from RM500,000 to RM1 million.
Johor registered the highest residential overhang with 5,328 units, followed by Penang and Selangor with 5,222 and 4,383 units, respectively.
The transaction volume for Q3 2022 also appears to be promising, with 105,204 residential units sold, up 12.6% from the 93,466 shifted in Q2 2022.
Despite this, market players continue to take a cautious stance given the macro-economic uncertainties and challenging operating environment.
Overall, the real estate market is forecasted to remain sluggish due to oversupply and tighter lending policies from banks.
