KUALA LUMPUR: The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) has cautioned that imposing limits on the number of residential units that Malaysians can purchase for investment may cause a collapse in the housing sector.
President Datuk Ho Hon Sang said the association supports Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming’s opposition to recent suggestions for imposing such a cap.
“Rehda agrees that introducing such measures can cause a collapse to the housing industry, which will also impact 180 upstream and downstream industries within the ecosystem, and eventually affecting the economy as well,” he said in a statement.
Ho noted that property purchases serve various purposes beyond providing shelter, such as hedging against inflation and preserving wealth.
“We also need to consider Malaysians who cannot afford to purchase a home, and instead rent homes from homeowners,” Ho said, adding that renters vary widely in their needs and circumstances.
“Some people rent due to financial constraints, while others do so because of a nomadic lifestyle, frequent job relocations, or a preference to invest or spend elsewhere. For these groups, renting is the best solution,” he said.
Furthermore, he said, curtailing property investment will only result in less production of houses whereas the population is still growing.
“When demand exceeds supply, it can lead to an increase in prices of homes as well as rent, and may even cause homelessness,” he warned.
Ho suggested that rather than controlling the number of houses a person can purchase as a way of addressing housing issues, the government should instead provide more incentives for more houses to be built at the correct locations. — Bernama
