JOHOR BARU: The Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) is optimistic about achieving the target to build 500,000 new homes in Iskandar Malaysia by 2025.

Johor Rehda branch chairman Datuk Steve Chong Yoon On said the figure might look impossible on paper as there was only eight more years to reach the target.

“All stakeholders from the public and private sectors need to work together and put in more concerted effort and it can be done,” he said.

Chong said building the 500,000 new homes in south Johor should not only be undertaken by private developers but the role must also be shared by the state-linked and the Federal government-linked companies.

Ismail said there were about 700,000 homes at present and there was a huge demand for homes priced between RM100,000 and RM350,000 in the country’s first economic growth corridor.

“The state authorities should look at reducing or abolishing compliance costs imposed on developers as the move could help reduce the prices of houses in Johor,” said Chong.

He said banks should also look at case per case basis when approving housing loans for projects in Iskandar Malaysia as there were many locals working in Singapore and earning in Singapore dollar.

“We have thousands of Malaysians living in Johor Baru but commute daily to work in Singapore.

“They have strong purchasing power after converting their salaries into ringgit,” said Chong.

KGV International Property Consultant (M) Sdn Bhd director Samuel Tan Wee Cheng said it was a tough call to build 500,000 new houses within eight years.

“Developers and state-linked companies need to build about 62,500 new houses annually for eight years. It is a tough call but can be achieved with determination and perseverance,” he said.

He said there should be more public-private initiative housing projects in Iskandar Malaysia on state-owned land if the state government wanted to provide affordable houses for first-time houseowners.

Tan said the main issue in Iskandar Malaysia was the price of land which had gone up to RM20 per sq ft and above from RM4 and RM5 per sq ft when Iskandar Malaysia started in 2006.

“It should be a win-win situation for all,” he said.

[slider id='81590' name='StarProperty' size='full']

Follow us on Wechat or Facebook for the latest updates.

Download StarProperty.my e-Mag(bit.ly/StarProperty_Emag) for more articles.

Want to contribute articles to StarProperty.my? Email editor@starproperty.my.