Budget 2016: What’s in it for housing?
First-time buyers of affordable houses not left out too
Various house ownership programmes for all levels of income have been allocated for in Budget 2016.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said PR1MA would build 175,000 houses, which will be sold at 20% below market prices, with an allocation of RM1.6bil.
He said Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad would build 10,000 units of Rumah Mesra Rakyat with a subsidy of RM20,000 for each house through an allocation of RM200mil.
First-time house buyers of affordable houses were also not left out with the establishment of a First House Deposit Financing Scheme under KPKT to pay the deposit.
“For this, RM200mil is allocated,” he said.
Najib also announced that houses for the second generation of settlers comprising 20,000 units would be built by Felda, 2,000 units by Felcra and 2,000 units by Risda.
“For houses built by Felda, the maximum price is reduced to RM70,000 from RM90,000 previously,” he said.
He also said GLCs would build affordable houses in the vicinity of the MRT station in Bandar Kwasa Damansara in Sungai Buloh.
Master Builders Association of Malaysia president Matthew Tee said the construction sector was expected to be the recipient of the highest growth of about 8% next year among other sectors like manufacturing and services.
“A lot of upcoming projects such as houses, schools, clinics and public transportation are included in the Budget,” he said.
Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia president (Rehda) Datuk Seri F. D. Iskandar saw Budget 2016 as positive and helpful for homeownership, especially for the middle income earners.
He said the allocation of RM200mil as deposit for first-time house buyers was good news for the industry especially in this current challenging times.
“Payment for deposit has always been the biggest barrier to house entries and we fervently hope that the deposit will help spur homeownership among the rakyat,” he said.
He said Rehda lauded the Government’s move to provide a special fund to encourage the adoption of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysia.
“The RM500mil promotion fund for developers and contractors will not only help to accelerate project delivery but also reduce development cost as well as dependency on foreign workers.
“We hope such an incentive will encourage more developers and contractors to adopt IBS in their projects,” he said.
Orando Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Dr Eng Wei Chun (pic) said the 20% reduction in stamp duty for Syariah-compliant housing loans would be good for the property sector.
Eng, who has been in the property industry for 20 years, said the RM50mil loan for SMEs could also revive the country’s economy.
“By spending the funds in the market, it will help to stimulate business and our economy to revive,” he added.
Civil servant Izzul Fikry, 45, hopes quality will not be compromised in the houses built under the Perumahan Penjawat Awam 1 Malaysia (PPA1M) projects expected to be completed by 2018.
“It is true that you cannot get houses ranging from RM90,000 to RM300,000 easily but I hope the Government will look into the space and quality of the houses,” he said.
The father of four said they did not want to end up with homes that needed constant maintenance, adding that there should be at least three rooms per unit for growing families.
Another civil servant, Kasmadi Jumaat, 33, was happy with the offer of affordable homes for civil servants.
“I will go for it, even if it’s far from Kuala Lumpur; at least I will have a roof over my head once I retire,” he said.
Engineer Janice Lee, 28, said with the high cost of living, a three-bedroom apartment of RM550,000 would be fine if both husband and wife were working with a household income of RM12,000 and two children.
“We must be close to the Kuala Lumpur city centre and a walking distance from urban conveniences, shopping malls and restaurants.”
Source: TheStar.com.my
