SEMENYIH (Feb 28): Through a tripartite collaboration called the MYHOME initiative, Lafarge Malaysia Bhd, S P Setia Bhd, and EdgeProp.my seek to get feedback from Malaysians about their ideal home and turn it into reality.

The three parties today inked a memorandum of agreement (MoA) to launch the initiative, which will enable Malaysians to actively co-create their dream home by participating in a nationwide survey.

Results from the poll will be used as the basis for the design of homes that will be built by S P Setia in its Semenyih development, Setia Ecohill.

EdgeProp.my managing director and editor-in-chief Au Foong Yee said the issue of unsold property units that is plaguing the Klang Valley area is because of discrepancies between the supply from property developers and demand from prospective home buyers.

"One of the reasons why we have a lot of unsold units in the market right now is because of mismatch in terms of pricing, location, concept and theme of the respective property developments.

"Through this survey, we are hoping we can minimise that gap because the input is coming from the bottom-up instead of top-down," she said.

S P Setia president and chief executive officer Datuk Khor Chap Jen said the company is taking a different approach to meet customers' demands this time, as opposed to doing things the conventional way, and being constrained by perceived industry norms.

"The online survey will run for about a month. After that, the results will be analysed and we expect that we can come up with a show unit by this year. From there, we will take it to the final stage," he said.

Khor said S P Setia has six parcels of land in the Semenyih area totalling up to 3,300 acres, which is as big as its Setia Alam site. Given the land size, he said the infrastructure will be built in phases to improve accessibility to the area.

The MYHOME initiative was inspired by the EdgeProp-Lafarge Happiness in the City (HITC) Index 2017, which found that homes are integral to Malaysians' happiness, with quality of life and affordable housing being key concerns for urbanites.

"Without surprise, the most important elements that came up in the HITC Index that we did last year [were] affordability, quality, and connection," said Lafarge Malaysia chief executive officer Thierry Legrand.

"[So] with your input, we can shape the landscape of the future where homes are well built, connected, accessible, and affordable. We are excited to see what [the survey will] come up with," he added.

Malaysians can now share their thoughts on what they consider to be their ideal home by answering 28 simple questions at www.edgeprop.my/myhome. The closing date is March 31, 2018.