Kota Kinabalu: The State Government will identify land for developers to build houses catering to the low-income group, especially the younger generation who have just joined the employment sector.Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Edward Yong said such land would be located outside the city perimeters such as in Kawang and Kinarut.
He said this is given the high cost of land within the city that makes prices of houses far too expensive for the low-income group to purchase.
"It is simply impossible to build a house that costs about RM200,000 within the city," he said.
Hence, he said the Ministry would be working closely with the Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) on how to make this goal a reality.
At the same time, he also urged developers to lower the price of their houses.
"Doing so would give an opportunity for the younger generation to have their own home," he told reporters after attending WSG Development Sdn Bhd's Chinese New Year luncheon cum launching of The Palm Condominium Showroom, here, Friday.
He said Shareda and the Ministry would be coming up with a mechanism on how this could be achieved.
For someone who has just secured a job, he said it is not easy to service the housing loan especially nowadays when prices of property are no less than RM150,000.
Yong said the high building material price has also contributed to the high housing prices in Sabah.
He said despite the Federal Government also constructing PPR houses such as in Inanam, private developers also have a role in building lower priced housing for the lower income group.
WSG Managing Director, Datuk Susan Wong also welcomed the initiative saying that it is simply not feasible to build a house that costs below RM200,000 within the city centre.
She thanked the Local Government and Housing Ministry for its close rapport with the developers and Shareda, of which she is President, in ensuring a healthy growth of the State's housing industry.
