Perak government is developing a “housing dashboard” that will allow various types of information on housing projects to be compiled and analysed.
State local government committee chairman Sandrea Ng said the the dashboard could be used by the state to monitor and analyse data systematically and address issues related to property overhang.
“As of now, the state does not have any mechanism to collect data on the number of housing projects being sold according to districts and types of homes.
“Through the Perak Housing and Property Board (LPHP), the state is developing the dashboard whereby we can get a clearer picture to further understand the situation related to demand for homes, property transactions and property overhang,” said Ng.
She was replying to a written question by Sallehudin Abdullah (PN-Selinsing) during the question-and-answer session at the Perak State Assembly sitting yesterday at Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan in Ipoh.
Ng also said the property overhang in Perak had dropped significantly.
“The report by the National Property Information Centre (Napic) for the second quarter of the year shows that some 4,161 units of houses were not sold in the state.
“In its third quarter report, there was a significant reduction, with the number of unsold properties having dropped to 3,039,” she noted.
Ng said Perak would hold meetings with Napic, Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia (Rehda) and local governments to identify abandoned projects and the factors that caused it, which could be related to location, marketing strategy, pricing or building design.
“It is important to stress to developers that they have the responsibility to ensure that their projects meet people’s needs and are affordable.
“Through thorough market research, developers can identify the types of homes that are needed and ensure prices are set appropriately.”
Amendments to the law are aimed at reducing the number of abandoned housing projects nationwide. — Filepic
She said a task force would be set up to monitor sick projects and those that have been abandoned.
“Being alert to these factors is important to ensure a balance between demand and supply to reduce property overhang in the future,” she added.
According to Ng, there are currently six abandoned housing projects in the state.
“Two are in the Kinta district, two in Manjung and one each in Kampar and Batang Padang.
“The state is working hard to resolve the issue,” she said.
She added that a memorandum of understanding was signed between LPHP and the National Housing Department in July this year on the matter.
“We also welcome the Federal Government’s move to introduce stricter terms for developers,” said Ng.
“The Housing and Local Government Minister has recently said that an amendment would be made to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 that would see developers who are involved in cheating or project abandonment face legal action, which could also potentially bar them from leaving the country,” she said.
