Govt to keep lid on cheap housing prices<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung said
\nyesterday the government would not let the cost of cheap housing
\nrise, despite developers' requests for adequate profit.<\/p>\n
The government would maintain existing policies on cheap
\nhouses, Tandjung said after a hearing of House Commission V for
\nhousing, transportation and tourism.<\/p>\n
Tandjung presented a statement to the hearing which said that
\nthe main problem with cheap housing was a supply and demand
\nimbalance.<\/p>\n
He said there was cooperation between government agencies to
\ntry and match supply and demand for cheap houses. The government
\nwas using Tangerang, which needs 350,000 rooms a year for factory
\nworkers, as a test case for cheap housing.<\/p>\n
Tandjung said the government has decided to maintain existing
\npolicies because of requests by the Indonesian Real Estate
\nAssociation and small developers, who have thin profit margins
\nbecause of rising land and materials prices in the last two
\nyears.<\/p>\n
The policies include the 1:3:6 allocated ratio of land program
\n-- which means that six cheap houses must be built for every
\nthree medium-priced houses and one expensive house. This policy
\nalso regulates partnerships between large and small developers.<\/p>\n
Tandjung said that, under the land ratio program, developers
\ncould subsidize cheap houses from the proceeds of sales of
\nexpensive houses.<\/p>\n
But developers and the association have urged the minister to
\nincrease the Rp 4.9 million (US$ 2,002) base price of cheap
\nhouses by 15 percent so that developers could make sufficient
\nprofit.<\/p>\n
Tandjung said the government was trying to help developers by
\ncutting administrative and permit fees.<\/p>\n
\"The government remains committed to prioritizing affordable
\nhousing for low-income people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that should demand for cheap housing rise, he would
\nre-coordinate Bank Indonesia Credit Liquidity's finance for cheap
\nhousing. He plans to discuss this with the Ministry of Finance
\nand Bank Indonesia (the central bank).<\/p>\n
He said he welcomed the possibility of new forms of housing
\ncredit for poor people.<\/p>\n
Tandjung said he hoped that the state-owned Bank Tabungan
\nNegara's mission would continue to finance cheap housing to
\nanticipate increased demand for it even though the bank would
\nmerge with state-owned Bank BNI.<\/p>\n
He said his ministry was setting up methods of management for
\ncheap-housing developments under state-owned or private
\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
Bank Tabungan Negara's credit director, Pandamsih, said her
\nbank had 1.3 million debtors who owed Rp 8 trillion ($3.27
\nbillion). She said the bank had Rp 1.6 trillion ($654 million)
\nworth of outstanding home loans.<\/p>\n
She said that of Rp 800 billion specifically allocated to
\ncheap housing, Rp 700 billion had actually been lent. (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-keep-lid-on-cheap-housing-prices-1447893297",
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