KUCHING: Sarawak plans to build 20,000 affordable homes under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) from 2026 to 2030, a significant scale-up from the 3,000 units constructed during the current 12MP.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian said the move aims to narrow the gap between housing supply and demand, while improving access to homeownership across the state.
“For Sarawak, we have 770,000 houses based on national
statistics in 2023. But there are only 630,000 KIRs (household heads). That means we have about 140,000 excess houses,” he said during the 2025 Azmi Real Estate Annual Gala Dinner at the Waterfront Hotel here on Saturday night.
Sim explained that the imbalance stems largely from rural-to-urban migration and an increase in property purchases for investment purposes, which do not necessarily translate into occupancy.
“So, is that good news? How real is it? Can we support it?” he asked, noting that the so-called surplus masks an underlying mismatch in housing distribution and affordability.
To address these challenges, the Sarawak government has rolled out several initiatives to support homeownership, especially among lower-income groups.
This includes a RM10,000 deposit subsidy for first-time homebuyers and housing loans with interest rates as low as 1 per cent for the B40 group.
The loans, available through state-owned Mutiara Mortgage and Credit, cover homes priced below RM300,000.
“All these efforts are part of our commitment to ensure more Sarawakians can own a home,” he said.
