Reezal Merican Naina Merican told the Dewan Rakyat that the home ownership programme was expected to remain slow till the end of this year.

Some of the factors for the slowdown were due to a mismatch in supply and demand, as well as pricing, location and the uncertainties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The market value of homes also depended on the rising land cost and construction material, he added.

Reezal was replying to Azis Jamman (Warisan-Sepanggar) who asked the minister to state the number of unsold houses and the mechanism used to avoid the ongoing mismatch between supply and demand, and to ensure affordable housing.

To overcome the problem, Reezal said the ministry will use big data analytics to get the real picture on the ground and to look at ways to reduce the number of unsold units.

The ministry will also look at creating comprehensive housing policies at federal and state levels to boost home ownership, he said.

Other measures were to introduce guidelines for developers to submit feasibility studies during the planning submission stage to avoid any mismatch of supply and demand.