Providing affordable housing vital

IT is good news to know discussions are take place between the Government and superfunds on a programme to provide affordable housing to Papua New Guineans.
Many Papua New Guineans dream of owning homes in major urban centres such as Port Moresby and Lae but only few can afford the costs associated with home ownership.
A house is usually the most expensive single purchase an individual or family makes.
Given the high cost, most individuals do not have enough savings on hand to pay the entire amount outright.
Lands and Physical Planning Minister John Rosso who met with executives from Nambawan Super, Nasfund and Comrade Trustee Services Ltd on Wednesday said 5,000 pieces of land would be given to public servants, taxpayers and superfund members as part the government programme to provide affordable housing to people.
The programme once approved will help to make the dream of owning a home become a reality which should be supported by the Government to create a pathway for citizens to have access to specially structured loans to acquire their first home.
Home ownership gives occupants the right to modify the building and land, protects them from eviction, and creates a right to occupation which can be inherited.
Houses and the land they sit on are expensive, and the combination of mortgage, insurance and maintenance are sometimes greater than monthly rental costs.
Buildings may also gain and lose substantial value due to real estate market fluctuations, and selling a property can take a long time, depending on market conditions.
This can make home ownership more constraining if the owner intends to move at a future date.
In many countries such as PNG, mortgaged loans are available from commercial banks and other financial institutions.
If the home owner fails to meet the agreed repayment schedule, the bank or financial institution may repossess the property.
On average, Papua New Guineans are getting paid K500 a fortnight or less and simply cannot afford to house themselves properly.
Many are piling up in settlements, those that do have housing on formal land, they have three or four families in there.
Due to rural-urban migration, towns and cities are growing and expanding and the population are adding the pressure on land and other basic services, unemployment and many issues to come about.
Decent, affordable housing reduces stress, toxins, and infectious disease, which leads to improvement in both physical and mental health.
Affordable housing also frees up funds within families’ tight budgets to spend on health care and food. Affordable housing also is important to the economic vitality of communities.
On top of that, rental prices are increasing that people are just not able to afford houses. Locals rent homes out in the suburbs cost much less.
A regulated market is a need and will ensure that commonsense prevails and that housing and accommodation rates are brought under control and more importantly, made more affordable for the working class citizens.
Researches have been conducted into the housing situation in the country and the recommendations that need to be implemented to strengthen the industry have never been taken seriously by the Government.
It is timely now that the Government put its foot down to take appropriate policy measures to address housing plights of all citizens.
There is an urgent need for affordable housing in PNG.