STATE governments and local authorities (LAs) must open up more of their land to build affordable homes for low income earners, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.
He said the move was essential for low income earners who could not afford new houses which were priced at above RM300,000 each.
He said 79 per cent of newly launched housing projects in 2014 comprised units priced at more than RM250,000 each.
“With a median income of only RM4,585, they can only afford to buy homes priced at below RM200,000 each after taking into account other commitments like tax, Employees Provident Fund contributions and basic expenditure.
“Houses will be sold at prices beyond the means of the group if state governments sell their land to private sector housing developers. This because the developers will add in their profit to the price of a house.
He said this when answering Ng Wei Aik (DAP-Tanjong) during the question-and -answer session at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. — Bernama