High-rises on discounted land may meet need for affordable housing

KUALA LUMPUR (April 28): Developing more high-rise accommodation may help solve the shortage of affordable housing, said property consultants at the National Affordable Housing Summit 2015 recently.

“High-rise is the way to go because we don’t have the luxury to build landed property for affordable housing anymore,” said PPC International Sdn Bhd CEO and president of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents Siva Shanker (pictured). “We should consider increasing the density of these properties. We also need to have alternative investment classes so people will invest in property to hedge against inflation.”

Shanker was speaking at a panel discussion entitled: “Managing and eliminating housing shortage through the development of vertical housing". The other panellist was REI Group of Companies chief executive director Dr Daniele Gambero. The session was moderated by Glomac Bhd chief executive director and group managing director Datuk Seri FD Iskandar.

Shanker suggested that state governments should sell land to developers at a discount so they can sell products to the public at lower prices. He said this will ensure they make “a decent profit while selling affordable houses as their corporate social responsibility initiative”.

The event was jointly organised by REI Group of Companies and the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute to address issues in affordable housing and green development. It was attended by some 140 people from the property industry.

The event was sponsored by S P Setia Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd, Boustead Holdings Bhd and Selangor State Development Corp.