A home is a basic necessity but for many, acquiring one is just an unattainable goal.

For some, even renting a house is a luxury.

However, little can be done to ensure that it is within the means of every family to have a house they can call their own.

The numbers are just not in their favour. According to the National Property Information Centre, the median price of a house now is RM295,000. But data from Bank Negara Malaysia shows that the median household income is only RM5,873.

At that level of income, a family cannot afford anything that costs more than RM211,000. That puts most houses beyond their reach.

However, it is not as simple as abolishing taxes on building materials and putting a cap on land prices to make houses more affordable for the average Malaysian family.

Tan Hun Beng, chairman of the Penang chapter of the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda), pointed out that levying taxes is a source of revenue for the government.

“If taxes are eliminated altogether, there will be nothing left for the government,” he told theSun.

“It is not unusual for taxes to be imposed on these items (building materials),” he said.

Tan agreed that taxes in Brunei and some countries in the Middle East are waived but only because they have an abundance of other resources. “The best way forward is to scale down taxes. With taxes reduced, the cost of building materials will come down. That will bring some benefits to the end-user.”

Tan pointed out that it would also be difficult for the government to determine the price of land.

“Ours is a market-driven economy and the price of land is determined by market forces,” he said. “In places where there is a higher demand for property, prices will, of course, be higher.”

For instance, he said, land along Gurney Drive in George Town, Penang costs RM1,200 to RM2,300 per square foot. In contrast, the price of land in mainland Penang may be as low as RM30 to RM40 per square foot. “And the distance between these two areas is only 50km.”

However, property developer Datuk Toh Chin Leong agreed that tax exemptions for selected items could help in bringing home ownership to a wider community.

Nonetheless, Toh told theSun, such exemption should be limited only to affordable home projects.

“This can entice developers to help meet the market demand for affordable housing,” he said.

Toh also agreed that it is difficult to put a cap on land prices. “So many factors determine the price of land, such as the zoning status, the location and the title,” he said.

Tan and Toh agreed that temporary occupational licences (TOL) could be converted into permanent tiles to make more land available for affordable housing.

A TOL is a short-term permit to occupy a piece of land for agriculture or housing. The permit has to be renewed annually or every two years, depending on the land code of each state.

Tan proposed that to accommodate the need for affordable housing, the government should first launch a survey to determine the level of affordability in each location, based on average income and land prices.

“We have to find a balance. Otherwise, there will be an over-supply. After all, affordability differs from one place to another,” he said.

On the other hand, Toh said social housing should be a responsibility of the government. “The government can use revenue from corporate taxes to finance such projects,” he added.

Source: TheSunDaily.my

Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) called for the government’s attention in encouraging M40’s homeownership by extending the housing loan scheme to M40 income group as well as a move to stimulate the property market.

The recently unveiled Budget 2022 is a commendable budget as it has offered various incentives to assist the B40 income group, but Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) called for the government’s attention in encouraging M40’s homeownership by extending the housing loan scheme to M40 income group as well.

“As Real Estate Agents we did not envisage this as it did not meet our expectations of stabilising the real estate sector especially in the secondary market in a challenging market. While we realize the budget detailed the need to take care of the Rakyat especially those in the B40 segment, those in the M40 has been somewhat left out.

“The M40 is an important sector that caters for the mid segment of the property market and they play a critical role in the new properties and the secondary market. Not all property owners are financially strong,” said the association.

About Anggun Residences

A high-rise residential development by PE Development (Penang) Sdn. Bhd at Batu Kawan. Strategically located next to Design Village, less than 2 minutes drive to the IKEA and Central Island Park at Aspen Vision City. It’s only about 20km away from the key employment center of Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone via 2nd Penang Bridge. It comprises a 35-storey tower, featuring 496 residential units with various facilities.

Find out more about Anggun Residences

It was a delightful Saturday morning for house buyers of Residensi Pauh Permai in Seberang Perai as they officially received their keys from Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican.

The project, which comes under the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme (PR1MA), started its construction works on Dec 13, 2017 and was completed on Sept 14, 2021.

State Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo congratulated its developer, Excel Focus Properties Sdn Bhd for the completion of the project, which comprises 1,017 units of affordable homes (Type C3 – RM250,000).

Each unit is 900sq ft.

“I understand that during the initial stage of the application process, the project had received applications from more than 1,000 individuals.

“Besides its strategic location, the amazing facilities also played a huge part in drawing attention from the people.

“At the end of the day, this is what the Penang government aspires for. A roof over our heads is the most basic need in our lives.

“The Penang government will continue to prioritise the delivery of affordable homes for Penangites,” Jagdeep said during the ‘Prestasi Residensi Pauh Permai’ programme on the mainland today.

The Federal Government-based project has facilities such as a swimming pool, futsal field, multipurpose hall, surau, children’s playground and a sky garden (outdoor gym concept).

Meanwhile, Reezal applauded PR1MA for this initiative and expressed hopes that more of such affordable homes would be built in the future for the betterment of the people.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

Property and construction players have noted that Budget 2022 does not offer much for the industry as a whole, adding that it has fallen short of their expectations.

CCO & Associates (KL) Sdn Bhd ED Chan Wai Seen said the budget, will at most, help sustain the prevailing market sentiment as the focus remains on affordable housing and encouraging home ownership among the prospective first-time house buyers.

“The measures are not enough to improve the demand for high-end properties or to sustain or to improve prices of certain properties or projects that have gone through a correction even before the Covid-19 outbreak,” he told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) yesterday.

Assuming there is no issue on funding the measures in Budget 2022, Chan opined there should be some bold measures to address the household debts among the public.

He added that the high household debts will continue to affect the country’s economic growth and the Malaysian property market.

With high household debt, the country’s economic fundamentals will always be subject to uncertainties and keep financial institutions cautious on approving loans. In turn, the purchase of properties will continue to be dominated by the high-income group, he said.

VPC Alliance (KL) Sdn Bhd MD James Wong said the Budget 2022 allocation for the property sector was disappointing.

Wong, who was the former president of the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia (PEPS), said most of the measures outlined did not cover the association’s wishlist.

PEPS had called for the government to revive the industry and resolve loose ends regarding overhang properties and issues surrounding affordable housing, as well as property taxes in the budget.

The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) president Datuk Soam Heng Choon said the association is hopeful the various measures announced to revive the economy in the budget would help towards a recovery in the property market.

PropertyGuru Malaysia country manager Sheldon Fernandez said more could have been done to revitalise the property sector under the Budget 2022.

He hopes the government would extend the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) to 2022 and the incentives under the campaign be extended to the secondary residential market to help spur the economy and encourage first-time home buyers to consider buying subsale properties.

MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd noted that while the development expenditure (DE) of RM75.6 billion in Budget 2022 is higher than last year, there were no new megaprojects announced.

It added that despite the record high DE and the 12th Malaysia Plan targets, the visibility and status of some highly anticipated projects are in limbo.

“We observed the budget’s impact might be muted on some companies under our construction coverage as continuation and re-introduction of the mega public transport infra projects, such as the shovel ready Mass Rapid Transit Line 3, are not included,” the investment bank noted in its Budget 2022 reaction report.

MIDF expects the construction sector to be the most obvious beneficiary of Budget 2022 as the DE came in higher.

“It must also be highlighted that in the run-up to Budget 2022, the construction sector was the fourth best performer behind property, plantation and energy,” it noted.

Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) expressed disappointment over the lack of new mega infrastructure projects to pump-prime the construction industry in the Budget 2022.

Its secretary general Datuk Seri Eric Kuan said the association is expecting a more uplifting Budget 2022 announcement for the construction industry.

“MBAM is expecting a more uplifting 2022 budget announcement for the construction industry. Disappointingly, there were no announcements of new mega infrastructure projects,” he said in an immediate statement after the tabling of Budget 2022 last Friday.

MBAM had appealed to Putrajaya to provide more assistance for the construction industry to revive and sustain the construction sector.

He added that the industry remains over-dependent on unskilled foreign labour and the industry is in need of new foreign workers now to help with the recovery and hopes the process of bringing labour from abroad will be much faster.

Source: The Malaysian Reserve