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PNG ICCC to enquire into Housing and Real Estate Industry

At least some good news for people looking for rental places or homes to buy, the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) will conduct an enquiry into Housing and Real Estate rates in 2018.
The ICCC Commissioner and CEO Mr. Paulus Ain, in the 4th Quarter Brief of 2017 said the enquiry is to apply some form of regulation in the industry in PNG.
For many years, the rate for housing and real estate industry in the country remains on a high resulting in a lot of people who cannot afford it having to reside in the settlements.
Ain said, “Housing in PNG, particularly urban housing, continues to be a problem for most urban dwellers. Currently, there is an obvious shortage of formal housing in urban centres across PNG. This is largely due to the rapid growth of the urban population over the past two decades and the lack of formal housing market to cater for the housing needs of the growing population.”
However, he made it clear that a regulation may not necessarily be in the form of price control. This will only be determined based on the outcome of the enquiry next year.
“Although regulation may not be the best option for the industry, where there is prima facie evidence to prove that the market is not competitive and there exists an uneven playing field amongst the industry players disadvantaging consumers, an appropriate form of regulation will be considered as the solution going forward,” Mr. Ain further explained.
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