Recently, kopiandproperty.my became a web media partner to PR Newswire. So, now readers of kopiandproperty.my could also read a lot of other related news. I read an interesting one about ‘Creative Home Ownership Post Budget 2018’ which was interesting because included into the event was a dialogue with a number of prominent real estate people. Here’s that full article. Do read about the Malaysia Property Press Awards (MPPA) but these are the comments within the article which is important to note. It was a discussion about the issue of inclusive ownership. For example, question of affordability for the younger generation, importance of housing for improving productivity and more.
The Roundtable discussion was moderated by Nordin Abdullah, Founding Chairman of MGBF. The panellists included thought leaders and stakeholders in the property and communications spheres: Gunaprasath; Prof Datuk Dr Raduan Che Rose, CEO of MPN; Chang Kim Loong AMN, Honorary Secretary-General of National House Buyers Association; Dr Danielle Gambero, CEO of REI Group of Companies; Hj Abi Sofian Abdul Hamid; Executive Director of CILT Venture; Shanthi Thiruchelvam, Executive Director and Principal Consultant of Perception Management; and Prof Dato’ Dr Alias Abdullah, Head of Cluster of Engineering, Technology & Built Environment, MPN.
Prof Datuk Dr Raduan started the event saying that affordable housing is an ongoing discussion not just for Budget 2018, but also for a long time. “I am still not comfortable with the correct definition of affordable homes. The price factor, eligibility or entitlement is not in sync and doesn’t allow people to afford homes,” he said. (I think this is an issue which will continue because this is still an issue even in countries where the government is controlling more than half of what is being built for the people. As for the definition, perhaps it should be categorised under B40 affordability, M40 affordability and T20 affordability for much easier assistance to each group. Yes, even the T20 may still need help because they may still be looking at something too expansive even for them)
Mr. Chang Kim Loong said, “Property prices are very high at the moment and have been escalating for the past four to five years. There have been good initiatives by the government as well as the banks, but these aren’t good enough. We should explore further. Utility companies should absorb their capital cost. We echoed this some five years ago. Those days, electricity was government owned and it was called Lembaga Letrik Malaysia (LLN). But today LLN has been corporatised to become Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) with their last announcement stating a profit of RM2 billion. My question is, why is it that the setting up of a sub-station or reservoirs has now become the burden of a developer? By doing this, developers have no choice but to factor these costs into the property sale price, hence becoming one of the reasons why property prices have increased. Another area that needs immediate attention is the fact that property prices should be capped where developer profits are controlled.” (It would be good to indicate the possible drop in property price if the setting up of sub-station or reservoir is absorbed by TNB. Else, this discussion is not going anywhere. As for capping the developers profits, I think this is against the spirit of business lah. The market and supply should be the ‘control mechanism’ instead. Just look at the newer launches, they are now becoming much more affordable, even if sizes are now smaller)
My good friend, Daniele Gambero said, “I agree with Chang that property prices should be capped for those that are RM200,000 and below. We should adopt the model of HDB flats in Singapore, where HDB controls the price of low-cost housing in the country. We cannot block the free market for properties beyond this threshold.” (Yes, in fact this is similar to what I mentioned above.The B40 affordability. These must be made available. However, if these are made available and capped, then the prices must be controlled too so that it would always be catering to the B40 and not continue to spiral out of control that we need fully new units to be built every few years. it will be a losing batter)
Shanthi said, “I strongly feel that the government should have a well-coordinated housing policy to ensure that affordable housing reaches the right target market. A single authority should be established to ensure a more efficient provision is in place. The government should engage with the property industry to streamline the eligibility criteria and conduct a perception audit to gauge the perception with relevant stakeholders. This will help narrow some of the perception gaps and ensure the right strategies and key messages are in place.” (An earlier article of mine which is similar to her message is here. National Database Needed) Please do read the full article for more of other comments. Here’s that full article. Happy following and hopefully everyone realises that we must help everyone in need of an affordable home if we are to avoid a national home crisis.
written on 18 Nov 2017
Next suggested article: The waiting game is best played after we own something
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