State Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said of the 4,092 unsold units in the first quarter of this year, some 60% were priced at RM500,000 and above, based on numbers from the National Property Information Centre (Napic).
“Don’t come and complain, ‘there is an overhang, we can’t sell’. I have been telling developers to help us build affordable housing.
“Statistics show building affordable homes is the way forward. If you want to build high-end, then you will have to wait. You build high-end units at your own peril,” he said at a press conference in Komtar today.
According to Napic data, of the 4,092 unsold units in the first quarter, 2,383 units were priced at RM500,000 and above.
A further breakdown of the 2,383 number shows 901 units were priced at RM1 million and above and 1,482 units above RM1.5 million.
Jagdeep said Napic’s definition of unsold units was “too short” as it defined an unsold unit as one that had not been sold nine months after completion.
“Nine months might be too short for some developers to sell all off their units, so perhaps the metrics should change,” he suggested.
He said Napic should consider categorising Penang’s numbers based on “regular-priced” and “affordable housing-priced” units to reflect a clearer picture of unsold units
He said currently Napic’s unsold numbers lumped all unsold units regardless of price or type for Penang, when the numbers should be differentiated between affordable and non-affordable categories.
On a different note, Jagdeep said he would urge the housing and local government ministry to follow in Penang’s footsteps in lowering the ceiling price of affordable housing from RM500,000 to RM300,000.
“A study should be conducted to assist the lower income group, especially to aid first-time home buyers. And one way is to reduce the ceiling prices,” he said.
He also welcomed an announcement by Putrajaya to exclude cement, sand and steel from the sales and service tax (SST), which is expected to come into effect on Sept 1 to replace the goods and services tax (GST).
Earlier, Jagdeep announced that the Penang government would hold an affordable housing expo at Prangin Mall, George Town, from Aug 18 to 19 from 10am to 10pm.
Thirteen developers, including state development arm Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and federal home developers PR1MA, will be showcasing their 6,000-odd residential properties priced between RM200,000 and RM400,000.