Call to help employees buy their first home

 EMPLOYERS have been urged to assist their workers to get their first homes.

Edai Town Development Ltd director Kym Yong said one of the challenges for many first-time home buyers was affordability in purchasing a home.

He said and government and private employers should ensure their workers were provided opportunities to own homes through housing schemes.

Yong said housing schemes such as the Government and Bank South Pacific First Home Ownership Scheme (FHOS) allowed employees to buy a home more cheaply from a developer and an employer should be obligated to assist by providing options.

“The problem is not the accommodation; the problem is the cost of accommodation in the country, Port Moresby in particular,” he said.

“Right now we have the initiative of the government backed by BSP and some of the legislation there, but most companies have not seriously looked at that because of the price of the house. 

“If you a can get people into homes and you’re doing that as 

an employer, obviously they will be motivated and they will be more loyal to your company.

“Because you are providing help in home ownership and you will have a better staff retention.”

Yong added that with the development of Edai Town, a first home buyer could purchase a home for less than K270,000 under the FHOS.

Edai Town Development was a planned satellite township that was developed on state land 20km outside of Port Moresby.