The government has announced several new incentives for the housing market in a bid to address the issue of unsold homes, including at least 10% discount for properties bought during the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC).

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said for homes priced up to RM2.5 million, the stamp duty on transfer of ownership title or memorandum of transfer (MOT) will be waived for the first RM1 million and reduced to 3% for the subsequent RM1.5 million. The 3% stamp duty will revert to 4% after the campaign ends.

Speaking to reporters at a briefing today, he said that the stamp duty on loan agreement will also be waived for the purchase of homes priced above RM300,000 to RM2.5 million.

These new incentives are only applicable for purchases from the primary market during the nationwide campaign which runs from January till June 2019.

The stamp duty waivers are on top of other incentives announced under Budget 2019 such as stamp duty waiver for the first-time purchase of houses priced up til RM1 million and also the RM1 billion Fund for Affordable Homes launched by Bank Negara Malaysia.

In addition, developers have agreed to reduce house prices by at least 10% during the campaign, for all completed but unsold homes.

The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) and the Housing and Local Government Ministry have been tasked to ensure that the developers who participate in HOC provide 10% discount against the advertised selling price.

“Developers must advertise the prices before and after discount,” said Lim, who urged developers participating in HOC to give more than 10% discount.

He said the government will take action against participating developers who do not reduce prices by at least 10% with additional tax or penalty.

He hopes that the incentives and discounts would be able to reduce the supply overhang situation and improve the nation’s economy. As of third quarter last year, there were 30,115 units of unsold homes.

Meanwhile, National Housing Department director-general N. Jayaseelan who was also at the briefing, announced several additional perks such as allowing developers to offer free legal fees and additional items such as furniture.

He said the government is also allowing flexibility in terms of payment such as staggered payments, to make it easier for purchasers. These additional perks are available for one year.

He said there are 3,384 units of houses priced RM150,000 and below that are unsold, out of a total 16,528 units built within this price range.

The HOC exhibitions will be held nationwide during the six months period, organised by Rehda members in the various states, as well as Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association and Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developer Association in Sabah and Sarawak.

Source: TheSunDaily.my

Asia Green is delighted to invite you to their Chinese New Year Open House happening on 10th February 2019 (Sunday)  from 10.00am to 4.00pm at 36A, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050, Georgetown, Penang.

Join the open house for a day of fun activities, special “ANG POWs worth up to RM38,888 discount*! Bring your friends to get their dream homes too for *Referral Bonus”!

Asia Green wishes you a healthy, peaceful, and prosperous new year. For enquiry, kindly call 04-2618316 or fill up rsvp form below.

The stop-work order for Yuta Maju Sdn Bhd, the contractor for the RM545.6mil Jalan Bukit Kukus paired roads project, has been lifted by the Department of Safety and Occupational Health (DOSH).

In view of this, the Penang Island City Council has also lifted its stop-work order from Monday.

The city council said the contractor would now focus on slope mitigation works besides preparing an assessment to increase the safety precautions at the worksite.

“The contractor will also prepare a ‘method statement’ for work done at the site,” it said in a statement yesterday.

According to the city council, Yuta Maju Sdn Bhd has also hired more consultant engineers to design temporary job scopes and to monitor work at the site.

“At the moment, the project is 73.24% complete and we expect the project to be completed in mid-2020. Stricter checks will be carried out by the project consultants and the council itself will also ensure the work is done according to the specifications,” it said.

It was earlier reported that the project may be completed in late 2020 or later as it faces uncertainty over the stop-work order following a landslide in October last year.

The landslide saw 12 containers on a slope crashing down and killing nine foreign workers and injuring four people after 14 concrete beams, measuring 25m long each, fell onto a slope in Jalan Tun Sardon days earlier.

It is learnt that a crane operator had accidentally knocked down one of the beams laid on the ground, causing others to fall onto the slope.

DOSH subsequently issued a stop-work order on Oct 17 last year after the mishap.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Looking to buy a freehold property on Penang Island? Look no further than Botanica.CT’s semi-detached and bungalows. They are semi-furnished with CCC obtained. Key features include partly fitted, freehold and individual title, guarded by auxiliary police etc.

MTT Properties will be having a roadshow from 7th – 10th Feb 2019 at Queensbay Mall (ground floor opposite Padini).

 Call 04-8662399 to arrange for show unit viewing

The glut in homes priced below RM300,000 is due to their “wrong” locations, reiterates the National House Buyers’ Association (HBA).

In response to calls made by the Penang Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) for urgent measures to be taken to alleviate the current property glut, especially residential properties priced below RM300,000, HBA secretary general Datuk Chang Kim Loong said many properties in this segment are not selling because they were not built in the right location.

“Affordable properties must have three criteria – they must be priced between RM150,000 to RM300,000; the built-up must be at least 800 sq ft with at least 2-bedrooms so that it is conducive for family living; and they must be located in areas with good public transport connectivity and public amenities,

“Back to the current glut of affordable properties under RM300,000 as claimed by Rehda, perhaps Rehda can clarify whether such properties meet the location criteria,” Chang said in a statement today.

In a news report yesterday, Penang Rehda also said middle range properties priced between RM600,000 and RM800,000 in good locations are still selling well.

“This seems to imply that properties that are below RM300,000 are located in less desirable locations and hence cannot attract enough buyers. The fault would then lie with the developers and not on stringent loan criteria imposed by banks (as claimed by Rehda),” Chang commented.

According to Chang, the US sub-prime crisis which lead to the Global Financial Crisis was due to three factors that happened concurrently – overpriced properties, slowing economy and loans given to less credit worthy applicants.

“Malaysia has not met the (last) criteria as banks have always practised good credit evaluation. If banks are forced to relax credit criteria and give loans to those who would not otherwise qualify and if these group of borrowers subsequently default, it can lead to a banking sector collapse which will destroy the entire economy,” he warned.

He added that it was easier to get housing loans back in 1999 or even up to 2012 because the ratio of property price to income was manageable.

“The reason why banks are rejecting applicants as claimed by Rehda is not due to stringent loan criteria but the fact that the property price is beyond the income capability of the applicant. Banks are in the business of accepting deposits and giving loans and making a profit in the process and would not reject a credit worthy customer.

“It is time for Rehda to face reality and start building more properties that the Rakyat can afford to buy. As for the current glut, the developers can either give more discounts or perhaps launch their own “Rent-to-Own” programme to help the lower and middle income groups,” Chang said.

Source: EdgeProp.my