KUALA LUMPUR: The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda) has described the 2023 Budget as bold and aggressive but prudent, given the concerns about slower global growth this year.
Rehda president Datuk N.K. Tong said he hoped initiatives to ease the people's burden would help them navigate their day-to-day life better amid the high cost of living, especially in urban areas.
He said the association supported the government's plan to build 12,400 units of low-cost People's Housing Project homes and 4,250 Rumah Mesra Rakyat under Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd, with allocations of RM367 million and RM358 million, respectively.
"The association lauds the move to increase the Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan allocation to RM5 billion, which will benefit 20,000 borrowers without fixed income. This will help Malaysians buy homes, which will improve their quality of life.
"We, however, remain concerned that pressing issues highlighted in our 2023 Budget Memorandum, such as the rising cost of building materials, have not been addressed."
He said the issue should not be left unresolved as it would affect home prices.
He said Rehda would continue engaging industry players, including the government, to find a solution to issues.
"As we reiterate our pledge to continue with our nation-building role of providing quality and affordable homes for the people, as well as providing employment to the 180 upstream and downstream industries, we hope the government will continue to give its full support to the industry."