Ong: 'Build And Sell' Concept Won't Push House Prices Up

Bernama 06/07/2006

KUALA KRAI, July 7 (Bernama) -- The implementation of the 'build and sell' concept will not raise the price of houses, says Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, Thursday.

He said developers who chose this new concept would enjoy several incentives including exemption from paying the RM200,000 deposit and stamp duties to the government.

"Prices will be monitored by the government so that the buyers' interest will be protected," he said.

He said major housing developers are capable of self-financing housing projects without having to borrow from the banks.

Recently, the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (REHDA) president, Datuk Jefrey Ng, was quoted as saying that the build and sell concept would cause house prices to escalate by between 30 and 100 percent.

Ng had argued that developers who borrowed from the banks to finance their projects were likely to charge house buyers for the additional cost such as the loan interest they would incur.

He had also said that under the build and sell concept, terrace houses in Bandar Utama Damansara would cost between RM700,000 and RM750,000 per unit. Under the sell and build concept, similar houses were sold at half the prices.

Ong, however, brushed aside the argument saying the example cited by Ng was "an extreme one".

"What (Ng) said was not quite right and the example he used was an extreme one," Ong said.

-- BERNAMA