KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry will seek additional funding for affordable housing on top of the RM900mil approved under Budget 2025, owing to high demand.
Minister Nga Kor Ming said the initial allocation was for 48 People's Residency Programme (PRR) projects and 14 Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR) projects.
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He told the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Feb 19) that RMR homes are popular because of substantial government subsidies.
"Each unit costs RM75,000 to build, but buyers only pay RM55,000, with the government covering the remaining RM20,000.
"Owing to the high demand, we plan to seek additional funding to provide more homes," he added.
Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu) had expressed concern over rising house prices and their impact on young first-time buyers.
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Nga also said 466,421 units of affordable homes had been built, were under construction, or in the planning stage as of Dec 31, comprising 93.3% of the 500,000 target under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025).
He had told the previous Dewan Rakyat meeting that 443,259 units had been built as of Sept 30 and that the government was confident of achieving the housing target set under a national roadmap for the first time.
He also said 76,000 borrowers had benefitted from the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme (SJKP) since its introduction in 2008, for a cumulative RM17.6bil in government-backed loans from financial institutions.