PERAK REQUIRES OVER 57,000 NEW HOUSES BY 2030 - MB SAARANI

IPOH, May 20 (Bernama) -- Perak requires 57,407 units of new affordable houses by the year 2030, according to Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.

He said that this projection is based on various development projects being implemented or to be implemented in the state such as the Lumut Maritime Industrial City (LuMIC), the Automotive High Technology Valley (AHTV), and the opening of the Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park (KIGIP).

“As more projects are being developed in the state, more jobs will also be created, hence the need to provide housing, including low-cost, medium-cost, and affordable houses,” he told reporters after launching the Perak Malaysian Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (REHDA) building in Taman Istana here today.

Saarani said the Perak Housing and Real Estate Authority (LPHP) and the Perak State Secretariat Inc. (SSI) have been entrusted as the state's main agency to lead the affordable housing agenda.

Meanwhile, the menteri besar said that the proposal to review the Perak State Housing Policy 2018-2025, with an emphasis on building houses priced at RM200,000 and below, needs to consider various factors, including the rising cost of construction materials such as steel, which needs to be imported.

Saarani said the housing developers should also be treated fairly especially when they have to purchase and import the construction material at such a high price, plus taxes, but are still forced to sell the houses at a certain price, probably below RM200,000.

“I think this is not only happening in Perak, but the whole country...So if we can control (the rate of) the import tax, maybe we can reduce the increase in house prices,” he said.

Meanwhile, Perak REHDA chairman Raymond Chan Chee Keong, in his speech, said the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) report showed that the number of property transactions in Perak throughout last year was 44,468 units valued at RM11.319 billion.

He noted that this amount represented a decrease of 1.4 per cent compared to 47,867 units valued at RM11.484 billion recorded in 2022.

He said the report also showed that in 2023, there were 4,598 completed houses unsold or deemed 'residential overhang'.

“Perak recorded the highest 'residential overhang' with 17.8 per cent out of the total 25,816 units nationwide,” he said.

-- BERNAMA