Zuraida, who was present at the Malaysia Property Expo (Mapex) organised by the Real Estate Housing Developers Association (Rehda) last Friday (Oct 12), told reporters after the launch of the event that it will not be fair for the locals if Forest City only caters for foreigners.

Supply is correcting, towards the demand. The recent half-yearly survey by the Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) shows the proportion of new launches priced below RM500,000 is increasing. 

"I am optimistic of the property market because of the policies and with all the efforts [by] different parties, the market will improve and the rakyat will benefit [and can] own a home. Things will get better for all of us, hopefully," said Zuraida after the launch of the Malaysia Property Expo (Mapex) organised by the Real Estate Housing Developers Association (Rehda) here today.

“Apartments or condominiums have become the most popular properties launched in 1H18, overtaking 2- to 3-storey terraced houses.”

While waivers on the SST for certain building materials and construction services are a good start, more support is needed, said the association.

Soam: The unsold bumiputera units are an additional cost for developers that will be passed onto buyers.

“We are not working on the incentives on IBS developments, not really. Because what we want to do is to give them [developers] the volume and they can construct their homes faster. IBS is supposed to be faster and cheaper, if we have the volume,” she told reporters at a press conference after the opening of Rehda Institute's Rehda Institute’s Housing Conference 2018 themed Re-inventing Affordability today.

Speaking to reporters at Rehda Institute’s Affordable Housing Conference today, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said compliance cost, which is estimated to account for 20% to 25% of overall development cost, is one of the factors contributing to high housing prices.

Trust chief executive officer Datuk Jeffrey Ng posed a question to Zuraida on how the government intends to meet its target with limited resources.

He noted that urbanisation has changed the face of Malaysia in the past four decades with the size of its urban population growing from 30% to 70% of the total population, necessitating a need to review existing policies and legislation to better handle the challenges faced by industry stakeholders.