PETALING JAYA: There are structural issues that needs to be discussed between property players and the authority in addressing home affordability in the country, said Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) Malaysia president Datuk Seri FD Iskandar.
He said this in response to Bank Negara Malaysia’s recent report that the number of unsold housing units has increased in 2017 while houses also remained unaffordable especially in key employment centres.
"I think there would be a time where everybody will say things, and looking at facts, but only half facts. Yes, there are unsold units and there are focus on certain focus on people who are in the category that they cannot afford.
“However, we have to look at the structural challenge or issue of Malaysia’s economy.
“When we (have the central bank) say the median of affordability of houses in Malaysia is RM282,000 (based on the housing cost burden approach), and we have the World Bank and economists saying that Malaysia is still one of the most affordable places to own a home, we have two different conflicting views.
“I hope there will be a chance for us to sit down with the authorities to explain our views – as you know property is the only commodity categorised under household debt that appreciates over time,” he said in his speech at the launch of Rehda Institute’s Strata Management Handbook here today.
Bank Negara Financial Stability and Payments report for 2017 has mentioned that there was an uptick in housing market activities, despite the high number of unsold residential properties priced at RM250,000 and above.
Unsold housing units increased on an annual basis by 22.7 per cent in 2017 (2016: 41 per cent) to 129,052 units as at end-September 2017.
More than 80 per cent of the unsold units were priced at RM250,000 and above.
Meanwhile, Rehda Institute has launched the Strata Management Handbook, which provides extensive insight into the obligations, duties, responsibilities, rights, procedures, expectations, limitations and liabilities of the respective parties involved in strata living and management.
The handbook was launched in conjunction with a two-day Strata Management Conference held at Wisma Rehda from March 28 to March 29, 2018.
Rehda Institute chairman Datuk Jeffrey Ng Tiong Lip said the publication of the handbook is timely, as more Malaysians adopt strata living in major urban cities of the country.
“Due to land scarcity and higher land costs, strata high rise living is becoming more common in Malaysia. Statistics from the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) reports that as at end 2017, there are a total of 1.5 million residential strata units.
“It is therefore crucial that all parties involved in strata living, from developers to management body to owners and residents be equipped and empowered with knowledge of strata living to ensure orderly, harmonious living and proper maintenance and management that will enhance their living experience and value of their investments,” said Ng.
The Rehda Institute Strata Management Handbook is available for sale to the public at RM58 per copy and can be ordered from www.rehdainstitute.com/smh2018 or from Rehda Institute’s Facebook page.