Rehda: Not location, location, location anymore but location, pricing and type

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 29): Real Estate & Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda) president Datuk Soam Heng Choon said the property mantra of location, location, location no longer holds true these days, having overtaken by location, pricing and type.

He said this while addressing the media at the launch of Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) Fund for Affordable Homes, referring to the all-time high overhang of properties revealed yesterday during the National Housing Policy 2019-2025 launch.

It was reported that the number of unsold homes in Malaysia has reached 30,115 units as of 3Q2018.

*BNM’s Fund for Affordable Homes to help lower income group own property

*Unsold homes reach new heights

*National Housing Policy 2018-2025 aims to reconcile market mismatch, focus on Rent-to-Own scheme

"If people want landed homes and you build high rise, people won't buy. If you build a house that is RM1 million where people are earning RM3,000 [a month] then nobody will buy. Today, property is no longer about location, location, location. It is about location, type and pricing. 

“Some of the properties built by the government agencies are left unsold and there is also a large proportion of Bumiputera properties that are unsold with no automatic release mechanism.

“We are advocating to the state governments, as land is a state matter to have this automatic release mechanism so that all these money don’t get tied down. When money is tied down, this will affect the cost of property prices," Soam explained. 

He also commented that the new BNM fund will help first-time homebuyers especially for those who want to buy properties priced less than RM150,000. 

"The question is: Are there properties below RM150,000? Definitely there are, even in Selangor where you have the Rumah Selangorku, Rumah Mampu Milik Johor, properties in Kedah, Perlis, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu. 

“This will also help [the homebuyers] as it comes with a low interest rate. Hopefully this will spur the [property] industry a bit," he added. 

Rehda also said that it will work closely with the authorities on the National Housing Policy 2019-2025. 

"It is a clear policy. Of course there are many initiatives which will take time to come to fruition. So just be patient with this policy. We need to do more engagement with the relevant stakeholders now," Soam said.