Kedah govt to let developers revive abandoned housing projects

The state government will open up opportunities for developers to take over housing projects abandoned since seven years ago involving 1,922 units, under the Private Affordable Housing Scheme (MyHome). Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah said the state government had agreed to give the housing project sites to developers to build MyHome 1 and MyHome 2 units and they could discuss the matter with the state's Housing Division and the local councils.

"MyHome has an advantage because the scheme offers an incentive of RM30,000 as down payment. People can purchase a house under MyHome 1 at RM90,000, while the MyHome 2 costs RM190,000," he told reporters after the launching of the Malaysia Property Expo (Mapex) 2016, here, Saturday.

Thus, he hoped that developers would build more affordable houses, taking into account the purchasing power of the people in Kedah before they embarked on a housing project. "Developers are also advised to build multi-storey buildings such as apartments to maximise the land in Kedah due to increasing land scarcity. When more multi-storey buildings are built, the price per unit can be further reduced and this can help the people of Kedah to own a home," he said. -- MORE

BASHAH-HOUSING 2 (LAST) ALOR SETAR

Ahmad Bashah said the state government would also review policies involving property development including whether to reduce or eliminate the existing development charges. "The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda) for Kedah and Perlis has applied for reduction of 10 per cent from the current development charges because the value of the properties offered was now much lower than before. "The value of the properties offered at Kedah Mapex in 2014 was RM2.3 billion, RM1.8 billion in 2015 and this year, it dropped to RM1.2 billion. We will look at this matter to boost housing development in order to meet the people's needs," he said. Meanwhile, Kedah/Perlis Rehda chairman Datuk Rick Cheng Wooi Seong hoped the state government would focus on the housing policy in the state to ensure that the property and housing industry would continue to grow, apart from providing affordable houses to the people. "The (housing) development industry in Kedah is seen as weak due to several factors including the development charges. So, we ask the state government to consider the developers' request as this industry is one of the contributors to the state's economy," he said.