MALAYSIA NEEDS IMMEDIATE HOUSING RESTRUCTURING

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs a more structured and modernized construction industry or risks having a 'homeless generation' in the future, says National House Buyers Association.

Speaking at the Does Greater Prosperity Come with Less Housing Affordability Forum today, its secretary-general Chang Kim Loong(photo left) said shrinking buyer affordability may result in a homeless generation if no immediate housing restructuring is taken.

"Aside from affordability issues, there is also the concern of investors club purchasing property units in bulk,resulting in escalating house 
prices. 

• "The affordable bracket should be between RM150,000 and RM300,000, and not more.
• The government should also take a look at the affordable definition to be correlated to the actual earnings of buyers. 
• "Capping developers' profits should also be considered for the affordable housing category.
• A regulated housing industry would see more reasonable home prices," he said to about 300 forum participants and industry practitioners.

Calling for a closer look at a new governance structure to prevent an imminent housing crisis, Khazanah Research Institute research director Dr Suraya Ismail(photo) said a planned and structured construction industry can help address the problem.

"A fragmented affordable housing sector will prohibit innovation and result in an inefficient national housing system. "We need a more responsible and elastic supply of affordable homes by improving the production processes which will lower prices in a shorter development tenure.

"Subsidising 80 per cent of the population is not a feasible option. 
"But modernising and transforming the construction sector would provide the solution," said Suraya.

Source: New Straits Times