This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 22, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia said over half of the total available PR1MA housing units in the market have been taken up by homebuyers from the middle-income group, signifying positive feedback from the target market.

PR1MA said as at last Wednesday, 12,640 units of PR1MA homes had been sold, with an estimated gross development value of RM3.16 billion — more than 50% of the 25,132 units currently available for sale.

It said this in a press release issued yesterday in response to a local daily’s report on Monday, alleging PR1MA homes, between RM100,000 and RM400,000, are out of reach of the average Malaysians. The report said PR1MA had only managed to sell 11,944 of the 141,661 units it was building, and that this “is a telling sign that many in the country are unable to afford a house”.

PR1MA said there are 141,161 units now under various stages of construction, but not all are open for sale. “It is misleading to conclude that less than 10% of PR1MA units have been sold to date. Before we can sell our homes, we must first obtain the authorities’ approval. Not all of the homes under construction can be sold,” it said.

“In fact, PR1MA projects have been well received in key locations. For example, the PR1MA @ Jalan Jubilee in Bukit Bintang is oversubscribed by 27 times. A total of 224 units or 42% of the 542 units up for sale were taken up in only three days during the last weekend.”

PR1MA’s affordable pricing has allowed Malaysians to own a home in a prime location, in Kuala Lumpur City Centre, it said. It is now targeting to sell 16,250 units by year end through PR1MA Open Day, its nationwide roadshow.

“We wish to highlight PR1MA is committed to delivering homes with lifestyle and community concepts for homebuyers from the middle-income group with a household income of between RM2,500 and RM15,000 a month,” it added.