Budget 2018 allocation for PR1MA homes below RM250k was to address unaffordability issue

PETALING JAYA: Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani earlier said that the RM1.5 billion allocation for PR1MA to build 210,000 units of houses priced under RM250,000 announced in Budget 2018, is in acknowledgement of the unaffordability of the homes under the current scheme.
"What PR1MA is doing right now was the initiative taken before which is RM300,000 and below," Johari said. PR1MA homes range between RM100,000 and RM400,000.
"Now we realised based on BNM's (Bank Negara Malaysia) statistics....BNM told us of a lot of rejection for people applying for loans is because they are above RM250,000.So BNM said the affordability of majority of people in the affordable category is RM250,000 and below," he added, in acknowledging Bank Negara Malaysia's report which pointed out that houses priced more than RM250,000 is unaffordable for those who fall under the category.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research's (MIER's) National Economic Outlook 2018-19.
Under Budget 2018, the government announced that RM1.5 billion would be spent over two years to fund the development of 210,000 units of houses under PR1MA with prices RM250,000 and below. The amount is part of the government's allocation of RM2.2 billion to increase home ownership for the rakyat.