Ceiling price of PR1MA homes remains at RM400,000

KUALA LUMPUR (April 21): PR1MA Corporation Malaysia (PR1MA) said yesterday the ceiling price of its homes remained at RM400,000, despite its joint ventures with private developers to build affordable homes for Malaysians, according to a report by The Malaysian Insider carried by The Edge Financial Daily today.

“PR1MA would like to reiterate once again that PR1MA homes have always been priced at between RM100,000 and a maximum of RM400,000. PR1MA has never changed its price range,” said the corporation under the Prime Minister’s Office.

The corporation said it was working with private developers not to chase profit, but to ensure it could implement its affordable housing programme. It explained that it has identified various measures to roll out its affordable housing programmes nationwide, with an emphasis on cost-effectiveness, speed of delivery and customer requirements. Joint ventures with private developers is one of the measures adopted in order for PR1MA to deliver 500,000 homes to middle-income families.

PR1MA was responding to a report by The Malaysian Insider yesterday that the corporation had allegedly strayed from its objective of building affordable homes in urban localities, and instead became profit-oriented.

National House Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong said PR1MA had relaxed many of its housing requirements and allowed private developers to come in as joint-venture partners, and that PR1MA’s goals had gone awry because the corporation had been hijacked by politicians.

However, PR1MA said that requirements to purchase a PR1MA home remained the same and only individuals or families with average household income of RM10,000 or less can apply for a house.

“PR1MA remains committed to delivering affordable homes to middle-income families and will continue to focus on strategies that will assist in keeping residential property prices at a sustainable level over the long term.”

PR1MA was set up in late-2012 to provide affordable housing for middle-income urban Malaysians. It had received 500,000 applications for 800,000 houses as of the end of last month.

The corporation had approved 111,933 units, of which 37,063 units were under construction, said the late PR1MA chairman Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis in a press statement last month.