Vice Minister of Industry and Construction Kuandyk Kazhkenov stated that the state will not regulate the growth of housing prices. However, it regulates the cost of housing purchased for those on the waiting list from socially vulnerable segments of the population. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
During a briefing following a government meeting, journalists asked about the sharp rise in housing prices in the country. According to experts, after the introduction of the new Tax Code, some developers raised prices by 30%. Media representatives inquired whether the state plans to intervene in this situation.
Vice Minister of Industry and Construction Kuandyk Kazhkenov noted that the state does not influence pricing policy in the housing market, as prices are formed by market mechanisms.
"The state does not regulate these prices; everything depends on supply and demand. If someone comes to the market and is ready to buy this housing at that price, it depends on their purchasing power. The state clearly regulates rental and credit housing. Today we have about 900,000 people on the waiting list from socially vulnerable groups. I also monitor these sites. There is information that, on the contrary, prices are decreasing somewhere because in some regions the situation depends on supply and demand," the vice minister said.
According to him, the state has its own methodology for calculating the cost of housing construction, which takes into account the price of each structural element. However, it is applied only when purchasing apartments from developers for those on the waiting list.
Last year, 219 billion tenge was allocated for the construction of rental housing, and this year the volume of financing is planned to increase. In addition, 155 billion tenge is planned to be directed to credit housing for those on the waiting list at an annual rate of 2.5%, compared to 140 billion tenge a year earlier.
"To ensure that housing provided to those on the waiting list from socially vulnerable groups is purchased at current calculations, and not at market prices of 500-600 thousand tenge per square meter, we have consolidated estimate norms. Within these estimates, we build pricing policy. The most important thing is that the state does not build housing itself now. We buy it from the same private developers you are talking about, who, according to you, raise prices by 20-30%," Kazhkenov said.
According to Kuandyk Kazhkenov, the state enters the housing market and buys apartments according to approved estimate standards. Sometimes only half of the apartments in a new building are purchased for those on the waiting list, while the remaining apartments are sold by the developer on the market.
Earlier, construction industry expert Dilyara Seitnurova noted that the introduction of VAT for developers pushes housing prices up. According to the expert's calculations, the tax burden in the price of a new building in Almaty amounted to 144-160 thousand tenge per square meter, or about 20% of the cost.