Apartments in a major low-cost housing development in Yangon’s Dagon Seikkan township will be sold to the public in the last week of March, with some units to be rented at subsidised prices, an official said yesterday.
Yuzana Housing project is being developed by the Department of Urban and Housing Development (DUHD) near to an existing project called Yuzana Garden City, and is almost complete, said the department’s director general U Min Htein.
“The buildings are almost finished, though the project does not yet have access to water and electricity. We can sell the apartments within the coming month,” he said. “We plan to sell some rooms and rent out others.”
He was unwilling to provide detailed pricing information, saying that prices have not yet been finalised. “Roughly it will cost around K20 million [to buy each unit]. It’s too early to tell though as discussions are ongoing,” he said.
The project is being built in two stages. The first phase has been under construction since August 2014 and the second broke ground in September 2015. Phase one comprises 864 units contained in 12 four-storey buildings with six units on each floor and 18 four-storey buildings of eight rooms on each floor.
Phase two, which is still under construction, includes 1152 rooms in 40 buildings, including 12 four-story buildings with six rooms on each floor and 28 four-storey buildings with eight rooms on each floor. Each room in both phases is 440 square feet including a bathroom.
“Eleven companies are building the first phase of the project and 17 companies are working on the second phase,” said DUHD assistant director Daw Khin Theinga. “Some companies are working on both phases. The third phase is under discussion and is likely to be launched soon, she added.
Under contracts with the government, contractors must provide all the materials and services for a set fee of K18,000 per square foot.
“Many teams from DUHD come and inspect the project frequently,” said U Aung Ko of Shwe Ye Construction, one of the firms involved. “We have been building for around two years and we have to do everything including painting.”
The project is located on land between Yuzana Apartments and Bago River Road inside the Yuzana Garden City compound to the west of Sittaung Housing Estate.
Residents say that sales of low-cost apartments in the area have dried up, as buyers are unable to afford the K20 million price tag. In nearby projects such as the Yuzana Garden City project, which was completed in the year 2000, most owners bought units in order to rent them out.
Sales prices are now around K20 million for the first floor and K15 million for the second floor which are 500 square feet.
“People are more interested in renting than buying a property for K20 million,” said U Win Myint who owns a Yuzana Garden City apartment. “It’s hard to find buyers. Most people who are interested in this project ask about rent. They think renting is better than selling.”
While the state is trying to help meet Yangon’s housing requirements by building low-cost, affordable rental housing, it needs to sell these under a long-term instalment system, said teacher Daw Khin Ni Lar, who lives at Yuzana Garden City.
“Moreover, staff on basic salaries have difficulties raising the funds to buy apartments as they can’t afford to pay 30 percent of the apartment price upfront,” she said.
“Not only is the initial payment high, the instalments must be paid over eight years, which makes the monthly payment very expensive. Because of this, ordinary workers can only afford rental housing. It will be better if apartments in this new project are for rent, not for sale.”
Yuzana Housing project was built over five years between 1995 and 2000 and comprises more than 13,800 apartments. Monthly rental costs are K200,000 for the first floor, rising to K70,000 for the fourth floor.
Source: Mynmar Times
