KUALA LUMPUR: The prices of houses have increased nearly double compared to the rate of incomes, says Deputy Local Government Development Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
According to Akmal, salaries only rose by 2.1% but house prices have increased by 4.1%.
"Houses are no longer affordable as many Malaysians have high debts and do not have a high income," he said during Question Time in Parliament on Thursday (March 2).
To assist first-time homebuyers, Akmal said the ministry had implemented several measures, among them the Housing Financing Initiative (i-Biaya), which was a joint effort with the Finance Ministry.
"One of the initiatives (i-Biaya) is the housing credit guarantee scheme in which those without a stable income or those working in the gig economy can buy a house without paying a deposit," he said.
Akmal said Putrajaya also came up with the i-Miliki initiative, which involved a stamp duty exemption on transfer documents and home loan agreements for first-time buyers of homes above RM1mil.
He was responding to Onn Abu Bakar (PH-Batu Pahat) who asked about the ministry’s efforts to tackle the rise in housing prices.
Meanwhile, Akmal said the government also introduced the affordable housing policy where affordable homes have a ceiling price of RM300,000, subject to the respective policies in different states.
He said the government would carry out an affordable housing index mapping based on the median income by state and region.
"This method takes into account the income of the people based on locality and the median multiple method.
"This map will be a guide to developers and agencies providing housing to set a suitable price tag on homes at a locality," said Akmal.
The deputy minister said the government encouraged developers to carry out a feasibility study before any potential development was carried out to avoid unsold houses.
Last week, the Dewan Rakyat was told that from 2018 till last year, houses above RM1mil were the most built by the private sector.
There were 453,761 housing units built by the private sector and the government during the period.
Of the total, the bulk consists of 168,927 units of houses above RM1mil and 162,284 houses below RM300,000.
The remaining comprised 70,779 units of houses cost between RM500,000 and RM1mil and 51,771 units between RM300,000 and RM500,000.
