The Johor state government has released almost 2,000 unsold properties allotted for Bumiputera property purchasers valued close to RM2bil during the last four months.
According to Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, chairman of the state housing and local government committee, the properties were in the M40 and T20 categories and above and included housing units, flats, commercial structures, and industrial buildings.
“We have released 2,211 unsold Bumiputera lots to the developers with an estimated sale value of RM1.9bil.
“The state received RM146mil in Bumiputera Unit Release Fees (SGB) from the developers as they are required to pay the government between 7.5% and 10% of the sold unit price,” he told reporters at Johor Real Estate Housing Developer Association (REHDA Johor) Committee Members 2022/2024 Installation Night.
According to Jafni, this supported the state government in resolving the problem of property overhang in the state, as well as helping developers in managing their cash flow.
He said that most of these units had been unsold for the previous three years and that 150 developers were involved.
“If the units stay unsold for a year, developers have the right to apply for release.” They are able to sell them to non-Bumiputera buyers.”
Mohd Jafni stated that developers owned the majority of the land in the state and that the state needed their full cooperation, particularly for the development of affordable housing.
“Through the Plan, Design and Review Committee (PDRC), we met with 14 developers to discuss the issue of growing building material costs and how they might assist us in building affordable homes,” he said.
The discussions also centred on lowering the number of units constructed while keeping prices low.
“The developers’ social responsibility to build these properties for the B40 and M40 groups remain.”
Wong Boon Lang, chairman of REHDA Johor, stated that the quick release of overhang Bumiputera lot properties would assist developers to improve their cash flow.
“The sooner the Bumiputera units are released and sold, the faster the multiplier effect will drive up the economy,” he explained.
Wong further explained that unsold Bumiputera units were often distributed after a long period of time unless there were clear guidelines permitting developers to release them after a set time.
During REHDA Johor’s 46th AGM on the 14th of June 2022, Wong, who was re-elected as the Chairman of REHDA Johor for the 2022/24 term thanked the Johor State Government for amending some of the difficult housing rules but urged them to implement the changes as soon as possible as it will augur well with the post-COVID recovery effort from both the Public and Private sectors.
