14/06/2014
What is the most import to grass root of food ,
clothing and shelter?
By Myitmakha
Ko Kyaw Zan Soe was thinking uneasily about when he would be able to own a house for his family.As the rental fees in the neighborhood of Thingangyun Township where they lives gradually increased since mid of 2013, he had to look for another place.
They have now rented a house in Dagon Myothit Township (North).
‘‘Of all the food, clothing and shelter needs in life, shelter is the most important. You can resist the hunger by drinking water to a certain extent if you have no food. But you can't stay by the roadside if you have no place to live. I wish to own a house for my family. Maybe I would one day."
Ko Kyaw Zan Soe, father of two children works in a pharmaceutical industry in Yangon.
‘‘My salary is K200,000 and my wife who works at a mobile phone sales center earns K150,000. We have to struggle to make ends meet by dividing the right amounts of our income for food, shelter and education for my children. We are anxious about rental fees which keep changing. The time passes very fast even without notice but we have not owned a place," he said.
There are a large number of people all over the country who have been living under constant worries about their apartment because they cannot afford to own one.
Of the population of nearly six million in Yangon, only less than one million own a place for their living, U Phyo, manager of Lin Aryon Construction Company in Yangon said quoting a comprehensive survey his company conducted last year.
It is obvious the property ownership is beyond the reach of ordinary people. The price keeps going up, he added.
For the poor and the company employees with the income level of Ko Kyaw Zan Soe's family, talking about the ownership just for a land plot with a small house is like building castles in the air let alone expensive flats, condominiums, detached houses, all of which are worth hundreds of thousands of kyats.
While the government has called low cost flats for the one with K15 million, it is a matter of affordability and the majority cannot afford to buy these flats.
People hope to own an affordably priced flats or houses for which they can pay in reasonable installments.
Some construction companies say that they have been implementing Yadana housing project and Ayeyarwun housing project for low incomers in Dagon Myothit Seikkan Township and a population of 80,000 can live in more than 20,000 flats of the eighteen-storey 48 buildings after completion of the projects.
‘‘Grass roots like us can't afford such flat worth more than K10 million as we have to struggle to make ends meet. I want the government to create the housing projects cheaper than those so called affordably priced flats," said Ko Kyaw Zan Soe.
It is necessary to have a link among construction companies and the government and banks so that anyone who has a job can apply for a mortgage to own a flat.
Construction and Housing Development Bank will give thirty-year home loans to low income people who have not owned houses with 4 per cent annual interest rate and the bank will provide such loans only to those with basic income who can pay regular mortgage, according to the Myanmar Times.
It should be noted that only more than four per cent of Myanmar's population can open bank accounts provided that installment plan is practiced, Dr. Lin Aung, Deputy Minister for Finance & Revenue said in a session at Pyithu Hluttaw.
At present, the price of a typical six-storey flat in downtown Yangn is more than K30 million and rental rates for such a space is between K100,000 and K150,000 a month, Yangon's real estate agents say.
The property rental market is on the upswing and sales have been slow for the property in early 2014, according to industry sources in Yangon.
Housing trade was doing well in 2012 but it was not the case in 2013 due to the soaring prices following more foreign investments and rental charges have risen by an average of K100,000, realty agents say.
‘‘In 2012 property sales were up. But the sales went down in 2013. Since the start of this year it is the rental market that is doing better than sales," said a responsible person from the Real Estate Agency.
The rental fees of a condo flat in six most popular downtown areas is averaged around K3 million per month which is about 1 million higher than the price last year and a tenant is required to make a contract for at least one year.
‘‘Property is slightly active despite some people's comments that it has depressed. Rental market is growing because there are more people outside of Yangon come here to work. We've found that businessmen from China and Japan mostly rent flats for opening shops," said Ma Tin Tin Khine of a real estate agency in Yangon.
The property market was flat while there are shortage of flats to let in downtown townships owing to the influx of demand from SME businessmen from China, Japan and South Korea.
Rental charges for a 12'x50' flat have surged from around K300,000 per month the previous year to around K600,000 this year, according to major real estate agents.
Unless Yangon Region Government's fixed rate of revenue is reduced, only rental market may be on the upswing and property prices may be higher than ever, according to real estate agents.
House rental market will hold up well as there are 20,000 annual housing needs by the growing population in Yangon, according to a survey of the Myanmar Engineering Association.
‘‘Most of the tenants are young people who have come from other townships to Yangon to work. The second groups are families. As each of the young people can earn only around K80,000 - K100,000 a month, they have to spend half of their income on rental fees. That's why their living conditions may be low," said U Lin Phyo, property agent in Bahan Township in Yangon.
Now more and more people who are facing high rental fees choose to share a flat or a house with other families or individuals in Yangon.
‘‘My younger brother and his wife rent a narrow room of a hostel paying K40,000 a month. They have not difficulty in living there as they have no children. But as my family has a couple of children, we can't live in a narrow room like them. If we have no child, my wife and I would have lived in such a room like them," said Ko Kyaw Zan Soe.
Although some Hluttaw representatives promised to fill the housing need, they are not yet in a position to fulfill their promise at the moment, he said.
‘‘The actual need for low income people in Myanmar is housing. Of food, clothing and shelter that human beings need, shelter is the most important. We distributed pamphlets with objectives that we will implement housing projects so that everyone can have own house paying for it in installment during the election campaign. Although we have often tried to submit this matter to Hluttaw, we have failed to propose it because we have been dealing with other issues that are more important in the sessions of Hluttaw," U Khine Maung Yi, Amyotha Hluttaw representative of Ahlone Township was quoted as saying in the Weekly Eleven Journal.
Population in Myanmar has grown from 39.3 million in 1988 and 57.37 million in 2008 to 59.12 million in 2009, according to figures released by the Ministry of Immigration & Population.
With an increase in population, shortage of housing has escalated and there are many land disputes and many protests against land confiscation.
Ko Kyaw Zan Soe's family is still worried about how to solve the house problem if rental would be raised by landlord after six months although it is still convenient for his family to stay in the house recently rented.