THE Penang government is considering to review the ceiling prices for affordable housing units on the Penang island and the mainland.
State Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Commitee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the state was looking at reviewing the current ceiling prices of RM300,000 on the island and RM250,000 on the mainland to assist first-time home buyers.
“I will suggest to make the units more affordable for first-time home buyers.
“Meanwhile, the prices for low-cost and low medium-cost units will be maintained at RM42,000 and RM72,500 respectively.
“We will continue to prioritise the delivery of affordable housing units.
“The first-time home buyers are economically impacted because of the current Covid-19 pandemic. We have to focus on this group of people. They need a roof over their heads.
“We will help the property developers too as they are also affected by the current situation.
“As I invite them to lower the property prices to assist first-time home buyers, I will also review the existing guidelines to further incentivise them.
“We cannot run away from the fact that property developers are also affected. Every unit that is built will assist various industries – from raw materials to professional sector, until the end product is completed.
“We need to help to rebuild those sectors. We need to stimulate the housing industry,” he told a press conference in Komtar today.
Jagdeep said the state Housing Department and his office would hold a discussion with relevant stakeholders, including the Real Estate Housing and Developers’ Association (REHDA) and respective chambers of commerce.
“I will bring up the proposals during the state executive council meeting,” he said.
Jagdeep said the state would also want more people to access to housing via the state’s Rent-To-Own scheme.
“We have 2,088 RTO units from various housing projects in Penang. I have instructed the Housing Department to identify more projects that can be channeled to the buyers through the RTO scheme,” he said.
Jagdeep added that he would propose a review on the minimum price threshold for properties in Penang that were available for foreign ownership.
“I will propose to lower the ceiling prices to clear the existing overhang units in Penang.
Currently, the minimum price for foreign purchases was RM3 million for landed property and RM1 million for condominiums on the island. On the mainland, the threshold was set at RM1 million for landed property and RM500,000 for condominiums.
According to the National Property Information Centre’s (NAPIC) latest report on January this year, the country had a total of 31,092 overhang units.
The highest was in Johor (5,470), followed by Perak (5,126), Selangor (4,872) and Penang (3,508).
Jagdeep pointed out that most of overhang units, around 98%, were priced above RM300,000.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by YB Jagdeep’s office