723,000 affordable homes under construction: Noh Omar

KUALA LUMPUR: Some 723,000 affordable homes being build nationwide is part of the federal government's initiatives to build one million units by 2018.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said it is to honour the pledge by Barisan Nasional (BN) in its manifesto for 2013 general election.

The houses are via projects under 1Malaysia People's Housing (PR1MA), 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing (PPA1M), Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB), the ministry and the state governments.

"We have distributed 500,000 PR1MA units, 100,000 SPNB units, 100,000 PPA1M units, 60,000 ministry units and 120,000 units by the state governments.

"My ministry has only 6,800 units to build, SPNB is close to the quota while PPA1M has reached about 50% of quota," he told a press conference after launching the Malaysia Real Estate Expo, here today.

The National Housing Council has defined affordable homes as those priced at RM300,000 and below per unit.

Noh hopes that financial institutions could create a new mechanism to address end-financing for housing loans which left many affordable homes unsold.

"PR1MA and my ministry have our own way of selling the affordable homes. REHDA (Real Estate and Housing Developers Association) and banks have to discuss to address end financing problems."

A Department of Valuation and Property Services report said about 11,000 units of completed affordable homes nationwide have been left unsold.

Noh said construction of 8,000 units of flats under Projek Pangsapuri Studio Transit Belia would begin next year.

"It will be rented to young people who just began working at lower than market rate but they are only allowed to rent up to five years," he added. — Bernama