Bank Negara will need to review its financing model to make home ownership much easier for the B40 (Bottom 40 income) and M40 (Middle 40 income) groups in line with the “One Family One Home” target, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said this was among decisions taken at a National Affordable Housing Council meeting, which he chaired yesterday, to discuss the direction taken and the coordination and monitoring of affordable housing plans nationwide under the campaign.

“This is to ensure financial institutions allow easier financing for the B40 and M40 groups to own units in People’s Housing Projects (PPR) and other affordable homes. The focus will be on direct purchase and rent-to-own (options),” Ismail Sabri said in a statement yesterday.

He added that the council agreed to set a new direction for PPR housing by taking into account current needs as well as the inclusion of new components to realise the “Liveable Malaysia” agenda.

He said new PPR projects will look into elements such as connectivity and internet access, including “fibre to the home”, public transport network and designs that are more economical and comfortable.

Ismail Sabri said the meeting also discussed strategies for the implementation of 500,000 affordable housing units nationwide under the 12th Malaysia Plan, involving the federal and state governments as well as private housing developers.

“The government is committed to ensuring the provision of adequate and quality affordable housing to meet the needs of a growing population.

“As such, the Housing and Local Government Ministry has introduced the Home Ownership Programme to ensure a more comprehensive ecosystem for housing development and financing as well as initiatives that can help Keluarga Malaysia own homes.”

Ismail Sabri said the government was committed to having more affordable housing units for the younger generation and developing affordable housing projects in the suburbs and smaller towns to allow more from the M40 group to own homes.

“The concerns raised at the meeting were rising cost of construction materials such as iron and steel as well as cartels controlling the construction industry.”

He said Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia have been directed to look into these concerns, Bernama reported.

Source: TheSunDaily.my

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Purchasing a property based on the buyer’s personal needs and financial ability and not from other people’s opinions is the fundamental rule in investing in property, the Malaysia Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) said.

President Chan Ai Cheng said potential purchasers, therefore, should rent instead of buy a property if they are not sure of their job and financial stability.

“They must understand that property is a medium- to long-term investment and not one based on speculations. Purchasing or renting are both great options.

“Renting gives you flexibility and purchasing builds equity and hedges against inflation,” she said in a statement on Tuesday (Feb 8).

She said based on 20-year data collated by the National Property Information Centre/Finance Ministry’s Valuation and Property Services Department (NAPIC JPPH), the house price index has showed rising values over the years.

“Property prices have adjusted due to the pandemic and barring any unforeseen circumstances, we don’t envisage the prices going down further,” she said.

She said the building materials cost index (BCI) has gone up by 0.3% to 3.1%, pushing up the cost of construction and coupled with the shortage of labour, would pressure the increase of prices.

“Our members are already experiencing this in the landed residential homes sector. It is a known fact that property prices go up and fluctuate over periods of time and it is now at one of its lowest points.

“It’s our view that it’s an opportune moment to purchase if you have the need and ability to do so. The longer you wait, the higher the price will be — then it will be out of reach for many,” she said.

She said besides that, as the Malaysian economy is expected to strengthen, it would give confidence to potential buyers to purchase property.

“We foresee that many new purchasers will enter the market as they have waited for two years now (since pandemic hit the country), many have saved money for this purpose and most importantly, they have a need for a roof over their heads,” she said.

Chan also urged purchasers to reach out to MIEA members who are registered estate agents, probationary estate agents and real estate negotiators to acquire information on their property of interest to determine the right price to enter the market.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets.com

The Penang government has spent a total of RM290.55 million for the maintenance projects covering both the public and private housing schemes in Penang as of Jan 25 this year.

This was announced by state Local Government, Housing, Town and Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo during a press conference held at the Sri Tanjung Apartment in Datuk Keramat today.

“Out of this amount, the state government has spent a total of RM46.87 million for the Penang Maximum 80% Maintenance Fund (TPM80PP).

“This involves a total of 297 applications for 497 maintenance works which have been carried out.

“All these maintenance works mostly involved the upgrading and replacing of lifts (285 projects) followed by water tank replacement and repair works (195 projects),” said Jagdeep.

Jagdeep added that the RM290.55 million also includes the maintenance works for housing schemes under the Penang Island City Council (RM24.82 million) and Seberang Perai City Council (RM4.59 million) as well as the public housing schemes (RM214.26 million).

Apart from that, Jagdeep thanked the Federal Government for allocating RM35.19 million under the ‘Program Penyelanggaraan Perumahan (PPP)’ and Tabung Penyelenggaraan Perumahan Malaysia (TPPM) for the year 2020 and RM18.44 million for 2021.

“For the year 2022, Jagdeep said the state government through the Penang Housing Board has appealed for a RM134.76 million fund from the Federal Government for the public and private housing schemes’ maintenance works.

“I would like to also urge the Federal Government to expediate the building of affordable homes for our people in Penang.

“The Housing and Local Government minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican has promised at least two new people’s housing projects last year.

“I thank the minister for giving the commitment, but what we want is for the Federal Government to deliver their promises,” he added.

Jagdeep visited the Sri Tanjung Apartment to distribute the food baskets to the residents in conjunction with the Chinese New Year festivity.

During his visit there, Jagdeep shared that ever since (TPM80PP) was established in 2013, the state government has approved a total of three applications for the maintenance work at the Sri Tanjung Apartment worth RM200,380.

“Today, I have received an appeal from the apartment’s management regarding the need to upgrade two units of the lifts.

“Penang Housing Board has taken note of it, and they would take immediate action on the matter,” he added.

It is learned that Jagdeep, who is also the Datok Keramat assemblyman, has allocated a total of RM5,000 for the CNY food baskets which will be distributed in his constituency.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

In economic terms, a headwind hinders or impedes growth and progress. In this instance, headwinds are expected ahead particularly for Malaysia’s residential property market.

Six headwinds were highlighted by Lee Heng Guie, economists and executive director of the Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC) at Rehda Institute’s CEO Series 2022 held last month.

The first headwind is the rising costs of building materials adding pressure on already dwindling profit margins and increased construction costs which will trickle down to higher purchase prices for homebuyers.

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the Building Materials Cost Index (BCI) (without steel bars and with steel bars) has shown an increase of the entire building category, increasing between 0.3% and 3.1% in Peninsular Malaysia in 2021.

Another pressing issue weighing down the completion of housing projects is labour shortages. Master Builders Association Malaysia reported that the real estate industry is currently short of 200,000 workers.

The National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) has said the foreign labour shortage in critical sectors is caused by, among others, expiring work permits and the constant “open and shut” orders during the pandemic.

The third headwind is the persistent oversupply of properties in the primary market, a long-standing issue in Malaysia.

An overhang is when newly completed properties remain unsold for a period exceeding nine months after receiving the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC).

As of the third-quarter of 2021, total overhang has declined by 1.0% year-on-year to 64,923 units worth RM49.4 billion according to the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC).

The second implementation of the loan moratorium ends this month and it is to be seen if more homeowners are unable to service their mortgage.

This potentially leads to the fourth headwind adding fuel to the fire – a rise in non-performing residential loans, leading to more auctions in the market.

Additionally, Lee said buyer sentiment will continue to be dampened in 2022 amid the rising costs of consumer goods and the end of the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) on Dec 31 last year.

Fear and caution of the omicron variant may also dampen buyer sentiment alongside the reasons mentioned by Lee.

The risks of abandoned projects due to the prolonged pandemic forms the final headwind. The housing and local government ministry identified 79 abandoned housing projects involving 17,724 housing units and affecting 11,824 buyers in Peninsular Malaysia last October.

On a positive note, Lee noted several catalysts and opportunities ahead with historically low interest rates, the RPGT exemption from the sixth year of ownership as well as the RM2 billion in funds for Skim Jaminan Kredit Perumahan among others.

He also foresees a strong turnaround in 2022 for the construction sector with a forecasted 10.6% construction GDP growth in 2022 despite a contraction of -2% in 2021 and -19.4% in 2020.

Contributing factors to forecasted growth include numerous private projects in the pipeline as well as the continuation of major public infrastructure projects and affordable housing projects.

He reiterated the risks posed by the rising costs of building materials, labour shortages and weak implementation capacity of public projects.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com