Stop Free House Talk, Serious Impact on Canceling Home & Mortgage Purchase

By Infobank Media Group Editor-in-Chief Eko B. Supriyanto   

FREE HOUSE. Free houses. That’s the narrative the government built during the launch of the three million houses program. Unfortunately, this free housing program has actually made many developers “surprised” because many homebuyers canceled their orders, even though they had already given a down payment (DP). They said they were waiting for the free housing program. 

In early November 2024, the Minister of Public Housing and Settlement Areas, Maruarar Sirait, accompanied by the boss of Agung Sedayu Group (ASG), Sugianto Kusuma alias Aguan, started the implementation of the 3 million houses work program, which is a program of the Prabowo Subianto administration. The project was carried out on 2.5 hectares of land. The land was a grant from PT Bumi Samboro Sukses, and the construction was carried out by ASG. 

Many people were amazed at the generosity of the government, which would build 3 million houses for the poor with land grants. However, a number of people, including bankers, wondered if the government would be able to provide 3 million houses. This is because, during the 10 years of Jokowi’s administration alone, the houses built by the government for the people did not reach 10 million. A million house program? It feels heavy. Will burden the state budget subsidy. 

According to PUPR data, from the beginning of the million house program, which is in the period 2015 to 2023, 9,206,379 housing units have been built. Plus this year, data from July 2024, as many as 617,622 units or 59.23 percent of the total national target. This figure includes development achievements for low-income people (MBR) of 484,119 units and non-MBR of 133,503 units throughout Indonesia.

Now, the program is no longer 1 million houses, but 3 million houses. Or, three times from Jokowi’s program. Heavy. However, Maruarar remains gaspol. Maruarar continues to establish communication with many parties, such as with the Attorney General’s Office regarding the confiscated lands of corruptors. In fact, even the land of BLBI evaders was scraped.

Read also: BTN Needs Rp80 Trillion to Build 800 Thousand FLPP KPR Houses

Extraordinary. Cheer up, Maruarar! However, it seems that the Minister does not realize that looking for vacant lands for the 3 million house program has a bad signal for homebuyers. In short, the narrative of the 3 million houses program is bad for potential homebuyers. According to the Chairman of DPP REI, Joko Suranto, buyers are canceling house purchases because they expect to get free houses from the government. 

This will impact the property industry. Developers will find it difficult. The effect is big because people will not buy (or) delay buying because they hear (there are) free houses. This has happened before, during the COVID-19 era. At that time, the government would provide a VAT stimulus to buyers of 1,500 cc vehicles, so people delayed their purchases. 

Meanwhile, the banking sector certainly does not just disburse credit. Bank money, public money. In fact, for some reason, Maruarar proposed changing the name of BTN to BPR or Bank Perumahan Rakyat. This idea shows how little Maruarar knows about the concept of housing, and the long history of BTN. 

The idea of changing BTN’s name should be stopped because it is not easy to build a brand. The BTN name is already a quality guarantee for people who need a house. If it is changed to BPR, it will certainly demean the BTN brand itself, which has been built for decades. 

The construction of 3 million houses should not be a mere ploy. The program must be implemented well and conceptualized. The 3 million houses program is no longer a campaign promise. It must be realized more quickly than Jokowi’s 1 million house program, which is not easy. It can learn from the difficulty of building a house.

Land is one thing, but purchasing power and supporting infrastructure, such as roads, licenses, and electricity, also need to be considered. These things must be taken care of early. This is because housing is not just about having a house. From experience, many of the current subsidized houses on the outskirts of cities have become ghost houses. Empty. Not occupied. Wasted. 

The next challenge is the decline in purchasing power. Many layoffs have occurred, and finding work is difficult. The increase in VAT from 11 percent to 12 percent will certainly further increase inflation and erode purchasing power. A 1 percent increase actually raises prices by 9.09 percent. Building and housing materials will also rise. And, this will increase house prices. On the one hand, purchasing power is down, and on the other hand, house prices will rise.

Read also: Accelerating the 3 Million House Program, the Government Abolishes BPHTB and PBG for MBR Houses

Stop the narrative of free houses. Stop talking about free houses. Make good policies so that buying and building houses for the people is easy. Not complicated and many thugs who interfere with the course of housing development. Making policies is not just about distributing houses. 

It is true that there are free houses, but perhaps less than 2.5 percent of the 15 million houses that will be built over five years. For example, the free house program donated by Aguan in Tangerang is only 250 houses. Or, if the land confiscated by the Attorney General’s Office in Banten, which is 1,000 hectares, will only be able to build no more than 30,000 houses at most. 

The intention to distribute free houses to the community is good. However, the narrative built around these free houses has a huge impact on house purchases. So, it is better for us to think together, and not personify the government’s generosity regarding these free houses. Bank money is not money inherited from the Prophet Solomon, but public money that must be properly guarded. (*)