Tag: Housing

House Prices Due To Increase 10%

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SHAH ALAM, 5 SEPT – The 20 sen oil price hike that was recently announced by the government on Monday is blamed for the increase in house prices which jumped up to 10 percent.

The Star reported that a housing developer’s representative revealed that the oil price increase had led to a jump in the costs of building materials.

Additionally, the increase in house prices is also related to the lack of foreign labour due to the recent large-scale operation conducted by the Immigrations Department to tackle illegal immigration.

In the report, the President of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association, Datuk Seri Michael Yam Kong Choy stated that the contractor would transfer the costs incurred by by the delay to the purchaser.

“The recent bleaching operation at the constructions’ site had frightened the foreign workers,” he said in the report.

He further added that the workers will be absent from work or postpone their return to the country until the end of the bleaching operations.

He said developers have to bear higher costs for labour in order to avoid being penalised for not following the agreement.

Datuk Yam said developers have to pay the damages to home buyers if the project is delayed.

He added that the increase in oil prices will affect the supply chain which involves more than 100 types of businesses. – The Star.

MBPJ, KTMB Urged To Upgrade Drains To Stop Floodings

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MBPJ, KTMB Urged To Upgrade Drains To Prevent Flooding

PETALING JAYA, 4th SEPT: Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) and Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTMB) are urged to solve the problem of clogged drains, which is causing flash floods in the Jalan Railway housing area.

ADUN for Bukit Gasing, Rajiv Rishyakaran said the residents have been experiencing flash floods for the last eight years due poor maintenance of the drainage systems within the KTMB’s vicinities.

He also said that KTMB should maintain the drainage systems regularly, at least once a month, to prevent floods from plaguing the local residents.

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In the meantime, a resident, Dhanaraj, 59, said he often puts the problem forward to the MBPJ, but to no avail.

“My house is in a low area. Whenever it rains, water will definitely flood the house. The water does not seem to be flowing into the drain. I imagine that either the drain is be too low or it’s simply incapable of containing a large amount of water,” said Dhanaraj, who has been living in the area for 40 years.

Another resident, Wong Ah Lek, 49, said his house is flooded at least three times a month. This is causing a lot of distress on his life.

“Now that it’s the rainy season again, I am asking for an immediate remedy to overcome this problem,” he said.

The local residents wish for the MBPJ to send notice to the KTMB to maintain the drainage system in the area, which is inhabited by more than 60 houses.

Wong also added that the MBPJ should consider building a new drain that is larger and higher as the existing one is ineffective in draining the rainwater.

Mega Wedding For 112 Happy Couples

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SHAH ALAM SEPT 2nd: At least 112 pairs of bride-and-groom in Selangor will be celebrating together in a mega wedding later this year.

Exco of Youth, Sports, Infrastructure and PublicAmenities Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi said they are targeting two pairs of bride-and-grooms from 56 Selangor State Aassembly to participate in the programme.

“This Mega Wedding ceremony will be held at the end of this year in conjunction with the launching of Selangor Agro Festival (SAF).”

“This is an initiative by the State Government through “The People’s Economy” programme to help ease financial difficulties for young Selangor couples wish to marry to enjoy a happy day while receiving assistance to start a new life as husband-and-wife,” said Yunus Hairi.

The cost of wardrobe outfitting and ceremonies for each pair will be fully funded by the State Government.

Yunus Hairi said his office is asking couples in Selangor who wish to get hitched to register with the state government immediately in order to qualify themselves for the RM500 Marriage Incentive and the Affordable Home Ownership (RMM).

“This registration allows the State to catalogue the number of marriages to be held in the state, and provide assistance with the process of giving incentives to those who qualify.”

“From this data, we will also channel the qualified couple’s informations to the Selangor Housing and Property Board (LPHS) for them benefit from the Affordable Homes scheme (RMM), ” he said when contacted by Selangorkini.

For those who are interested to join this programme, contact Office of Youth Exco, Sports, Infrastructure and Public Utilities, 2nd Floor Building SUK Shah Alam or call directly at 03-5519 4361/5544 7105.

At present, the State Government is still providing the RM200 incentives for the newlyweds but the amount will be soon be increased to RM500.

The increase was promised in the Selangor People’s Coalition in the recent 13th General Election.

Five “Policeless” Outposts To Be Build By Assemblyman As Crime Prevention Measure

AMPANG, AUGUST 31st – State Assembly Member of Chempaka, Iskandar Abdul Samad, will have five police outposts build in Taman Cempaka, even though the police refused to spare any officers to man the outposts.

Iskandar said the plan will begin in stages starting from next October as a concentrated effort to increase security and deal with endemic crimes.

He also revealed that the proposal was forwarded to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Abu Bakar, but the former Selangor Chief of Police had refused to grant the request for officers to man the outposts.

“The situation in the area is deteriorating. Constructions will begin in stages starting this October. I will not wait for the police. I will have the outposts built myself.”

“If the police is reluctant to spare us any manpower, the residents are willing to patrol the area voluntarily. My office will also offer support and assistance in ensuring the safety of the neighbourhood and properties,” he said in a media statement yesterday.

Recently, an executive of an airline company, Shahrinawati Abu Bakar, was tragically killed during a mugging attempt.

Last month, just 500m away from the scene of crime, an employee of the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) who attempted to post a notice at an illegal shop in Kampung Pandan, was attacked with a machete.

Iskandar said a drastic action is necessary for crime prevention, as his office regularly receives complaints about muggings, robbery and housebreaking-and-entering.

– FZL

Rafizi: Bumping Up RPGT Will Not Solve Housing Prices

SHAH ALAM 28th AUGUST: The Federal Government’s proposal to increase the Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT) rate during the Budget 2014 delivery this coming October 25th will not solve the problem of increased housing prices.

The People’s Coalition Party (PKR) Strategy Director, Rafizi Ramli, said the Federal Government should approach the high pricing predicament holistically, instead of resorting to short-term solutions.

“Despite concentrated effort to reintroduce and increase RPGT that can help reduce wanton speculations, however the fact remains that the root cause was still BN government’s frenetic endeavour that overlooked the underprivileged when they abolished the RPGT,” said Rafizi.

Previously, the Minister of Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government (MHLG), Dato’ Abdul Rahman Dahlan, said the current RPGT rate fails to curb property speculations, compelling the government to make an intervention in order to resolve the problems .

Rafizi argued that factors, such as property taxes and speculations in home pricings, are not to be blamed for the increase in housing prices.

Amongst the many approaches proposed by Rafizi is to eliminate corruption that is causing serious complications in the construction sector.

“The government must be committed to combating corruption that is actively happening in housing projects, which contributes to the rise in housing prices,” said Rafizi.

Prior to the year 2007, the government determined that properties which were to be sold within two years after purchase must pay RPGT amounting up to 30 percent. Twenty percent if it was sold within four years, five percent in the fifth year, and no tax to be applied after six years.

However, beginning from April 2007 to January 2010, all profits from property transactions were exempted from RPGT as a step to increase property sales during the economic downturn.

It was reintroduced in Budget 2011, where acquisitions from real estate sales for less than five years will be charged with RPGT for about five percent.

During Budget 2012, proceeds from property sales of less than two years will be charged with 10 percent RPGT; five percent for between two to five years, while no RPGT wil be imposed on five years.

Aiming To Build 35,000 Affordable Homes

PANDAN 28th AUGUST: The Housing Standing Committee is aiming to build 35,000 units of affordable homes within the next five years.

The EXCO, Ir. Iskandar Abdul Samad, said the State Government’s subsidiaries, such as the State of Selangor Development Corporations (PKNS) and Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad (PNSB), are building affordable housing projects that were launched prior to the 13th General Elections (GE).

“We have launched a number of housing projects such as Section U12 in Shah Alam, Sabak Bernam Sweetwater Farm, Antara Gapi, Serendah and Sutera Damansara,” he said.

He explained that the State Government’s affordable housing strategy has better direction because it meets the low and middle-income earners’ range.

“At most, the dearest price tag for an affordable home would be RM150,000 under the State Government policy. If we compare that to the Federal Government, PR1MA Home can fetch up to RM300,000. This proves that the Federal Government’s policy is on par unlike the Federal Government’s,” he said.

Rafizi: Make Housing A National Project

SHAH ALAM 28th AUGUST: The Federal Government is urged to create a housing corporation at a speedy rate with a mandate to implement housing projects on a massive scale.

Pandan Member of Parliament, Rafizi Ramli, said corporations with specific provisions will be able to address the housing crisis faced by the people .

“We need specialised housing corporations that can be provided with clearance to carry out large-scale housing projects, particularly in urban areas.

“That way, housing costs can be reduced cogently,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor.

Rafizi also said that the People’s Coalition believes that housing subsidy schemes should be introduced so that low and middle-income earners are able to afford a reasonable home value.

He pointed out that high property values, notably in the major cities, will escalate house prices beyond the means of ordinary people

Early media reports stated that the price of terraced houses in the Klang Valley will double by 2020 .

At present, the reported price of Condominium One Menerung in Bangsar with an area of 2,000 feet (185 meters) per square is being sold for a whopping RM2.4 million per unit.

A semi-detached house in Sri Hartamas fetches a hefty RM1.5 million in the market, while the price tag for a two-storey terraced home in Cheras starts from RM500,000 .

Housings in the outskirts of Klang Valley such as Kajang, Bangi, Sungai Buloh, Rawang, and Klang also reported a similar trend .

In some locations, such as Semenyih, the price of a terraced house with an area of 24 × 70 feet (7 × 21 meters) is reported to have reached a staggering RM460,000 .

In Kajang, houses sized 22 × 70 feet per unit reportedly cost RM510,000, Rawang RM288,000 (20 × 65 ft), Sungai Buloh RM398,000 ( 22 × 75 ft) and Klang RM335,000 (24 × 75 ft).

“The People’s Coalition estimates that at least RM5 billion is needed to ensure that the affordable housing scheme is a success, based on the models of other countries that built affordable homes,” he said.

House price notably increased when the income of middle-income city dwellers is averaged around RM6,000 a month .

Rafizi believes that the Federal Government should formulate a truly comprehensive National Housing Policy that can protect the welfare of local people with low and middle-income.

Clearly, the government agencies should take measures to prioritise the underprivileged and not just for profit alone.

“What is being built by the Government through the National Housing Company (SSPN) is not effective. This is purely because SSPN functions as a private contractor that is motivated by profit.

“Many of the projects undertaken by the SSPN involve private contractors and partners, with elements of high profits,” he said.

High Costs of Housings Not Because of Building Costs

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PANDAN 28th AUGUST: The sharp increase in prices of houses in Klang Valley has nothing to do with building costs, but instead with speculating home buyers and sellers.

According to Housing, Building Management and Urban Development EXCO, Iskandar Abdul Samad, the soaring prices of houses are largely driven by high profit-seeking behaviour.

“Speculative behaviour is driving the increase in house prices. Uncontrolled transactions is one of the many reasons for this increase. The way I see it, housing price issues have nothing to do with building costs alone,” he said.

For instance, Iskandar said the construction cost for a two-storey terraced home with an area of 1,500 to 1,600 square foot would require between RM100 to RM150 per square foot.

However, the cost of selling a house can reach up to RM500,000 – an equivalent to RM300 per square foot.

“Two hundred ringgit for every square foot is not because of construction costs. I disagree with developers that give excuses that construction costs are high because the price of construction items is expensive,” he explained.

Iskandar believes that one of the steps that can be taken to remedy the speculations is to either reduce the financial loans for second homes down to 50 percent, or increase the RGPT tax up to 30 percent in order to prevent cavalier purchasing and selling of houses.

“In terms of house prices, we can’t put a maximum pricetag, but there should be a percentage that can be made affordable for the regular folks,” he said

Iskandar Recommends Expansion of LPHS Role

PANDAN, 28th AUGUST, Exco Housing, Building Management and Urban Exploration, YB Ir. Iskandar Abdul Samad, is proposing to handover the role of building affordable housings to the Selangor Housing and Property Board (LPHS).

Taking a leaf out from the Housing Development Board (HDB) of Singapore’s book, Iskandar feels the move is necessary to boost affordable home ownership projects for the people of Selangor.

“We still have yet to arrive to a final decision. If possible, we would like to not only improve LPHS, but also form a new committee specifically for the construction of affordable home ownership like the Housing Development Board in Singapore,” said Iskandar.

Majority of the affordable home ownerships in Singapore were developed and managed by a public committee. Eighty percent of Singaporeans are residing in estates, which consist of HDB flats, schools, supermarkets, clinics, food courts, sports and recreational centres. Ninety-five percent of them own their homes.

“Before, the LPHS acted as a committee that handled only housing policies. Today, we would like to form a new committee that builds homes as well, other than PKNS and PNSB,” said Iskandar.

Previously, LPHS had organised a course on easy and inexpensive home-building techniques, which was attended by professionals from international companies to help improve the constructions of affordable housings in the state.

Selangor’s Focus On Ideal Urbanisation, Seizing Greater KL Opportunities

SUBANG JAYA, 27th AUGUST: The State Government wishes to focus on the “Ideal Town” development concept to encourage migration from rural areas and in-between cities, in a bid to seize the opportunities presented to Greater Kuala Lumpur (KL) by the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs).

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the “Ideal Town” features have unique characteristics that combine creative and intelligent, commercial, and recreational housings for building a suitable place for residential, business and leisure.

“Recently, more and more residential property development projects, particularly in the natural environment, were developed in many cities and suburban areas in Selangor to support the NKEA’s expansion,” said Abdul Khalid during the 16th Property and National Housing Summit at Sunway Pyramid Convention Center.

Abdul Khalid also pointed out that one of the many important features of the Ideal Township is the ease for individuals to travel to and from work, as well as addressing traffic congestion issues.

Those feature, however, are part of the whole idea behind the Ideal Township concept that aspires to improve the quality of people’s lives, generating new jobs, and help control the invasion of agricultural areas and forest reserves.

“The State Government will also upgrade existing infrastructures, and give existing cities and suburbs in the Klang Valley a new makeover in ensuring the development of sustainable socio-economic and landscape enhancement of cities in Greater KL or Selangor remains intact,” he said.

Abdul Khalid also added that a masterful planning along with economic strategies are the key points for the state government

KPKT the Reason Buyers Failed to buy Homes of ‘Abandoned’ Project

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SHAH ALAM, August 6: The Selangor Government regrets that buyers of an abandoned housing project which has been fully recovered failed to secure bank loans following the negligence of the Ministry of Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government (KPKT).

The Exco for Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlement, Iskandar Samad said, the failure in being unable to secure a bank loan is because the KPKT still lists the project as ‘abandoned’.

Stating that the State Government has received many complaints, he said that the failure for prospective buyers to secure a load has caused the developer to face the problem of selling the remaining units thus financially impacting them.

“There is a Low-Cost Housing project in Subang which has been successfully restored and is now 80 percent completed. But because KPKT still lists it as an abandoned project, 140 buyers failed to secure bank loans,” he said.

Thus, Iskandar urged KPKT to remove the restored project from the blacklist so that it can be completed on schedule by the developers.

He hoped to have a meeting between the state government and KPKT in the near future to discuss the problem in addition to other housing issues.

“The other issue is the rising house prices, the construction of Affordable Housing and the maintenance of strata development.

“The State Government has twice written to the minister regarding the application to hold a meeting, however there has been no reply till now,” he said.

Hannah: Floodlights at USJ 2 Help Reduce Crime

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SUBANG JAYA, July 31: The installation of floodlights at the parking area in the USJ2 housing area since March succeeded in reducing crime in the area.

Subang Jaya Assemblywoman, Hannah Yeoh said that the facility provided is for the benefit of the residents who complained of crime often happening because of dark conditions.

She said that the provisions of RM20,510 from the State Government was used for the installation of the floodlights.

“The residents here previously caught a suspect involved in crime when this are was dark.

“In this area, the is a public hall, neighbourhood watch (rukun tetangga) cabins in USJ2 and USJ6, as well as the Al-Mukminun Mosque, so this parking area is used by all three parties on a regular basis,” she told the media after a visit to the area today.

The project started on February 22 till 13 March using a part of the RM500,000 provisions channelled by the State Government to improve the infrastructure in the Subang Jaya constituency.

Hannah said, the various projects planned are in accordance to the proposals put forward by various parties, including the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) Members.

She added that the construction of two wakaf (endowment) worth RM20,240 was also done there for the use of the residents, replacing the existing wakaf which had to be demolished by MPSJ because it was too close to residences.

The Al Mukminun Mosque Nazir, Zainal Abidin Zakarian explained that the parking area really does need floodlights so that the conditions would be brighter.

Prior to that, he said that unwanted incidents that have occurred caused unrest to the residents.

“The occurrence of crime often happens here, especially at night. The installation of this light is useful and beneficial to all parties here,” he said.