Any increase in house prices upon implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in April next year is just temporary, as a number of measures are already in place to curtail the rise.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said among the measures are increasing the real property gains tax from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, enhancing the price of houses from RM500,000 to RM1 million for foreigners, and barring developers from undertaking projects based on the Developer Interest Bearing Scheme.

He told reporters this after officiating the closing of a GST information session and a briefing on current issues at the Masjid Tanah Parliamentary constituency here today.

Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said recently that the price of houses can be expected to rise by three per cent based on a study by the Real Estate Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (REDHA), after the GST implementation.

Ahmad, however said, the figure could be just one to two per cent based on the calculation of the Finance Ministry and the Customs Department.

Meanwhile, he said he would propose to the government to reduce the RON 95 fuel price, if global oil prices fell to between US$70 to US$75 a barrel.

He said a reduction could be undertaken, as it would have passed the subsidy threshold of the government.

The price of Brent crude oil is at US$79.41 a barrel at present

Source: Bernama

by Ken Lim

Housing affordability is a common issue not only in Malaysia, but also in many other countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Australia. Recently I have also read the latest news about India inviting Malaysian developer to build affordable homes in India.

In some developed countries like Japan and United Kingdom, the availability of affordable homes, usually within the proximity of transportation hubs and at the same time linked to job distribution, is severely reduced due to rapid regional urbanization and growing population density primarily focused in a particular area. Today, they are still dealing with the same issue as we progressed with time.

Malaysia is only getting off the starting block. As our young nation continues to evolve and grow, it is a matter of importance for us to address the housing needs due to the distinctive disparity in household income. Affordability issue will always exist yet if the right and effective strategy is implemented, the implication can be less severe than expected.

While both government and private sectors have formulated various plans to deliver affordable housing, it seems to me that the people are not as excited as they should be. I can confirm this from the level of engagement in PenangPropertyTalk.com. A RM800K condominium in Tanjong Tokong has attracted twice more traffic and Facebook sharing compared to a RM300K affordable housing project in Mount Erskine. News about Ikea coming to Batu Kawan had almost thrice the traffic and Facebook sharing compared to affordable housing plans within the vicinity of Batu Kawan.

One of the possible reasons could be due to the slower pace in terms of paradigm shift of the mentality of the people with respect to the idea of affordable housing in Malaysia.  The general public perception of affordable homes is akin to aging dilapidated flat with little or no facilities at all. Many still harbour hopes that the government will be able to make the private homes more affordable, having the new private housing development to reduce their price within the range of 10-20% so that affordability is within grasp. But seriously, do you think that is a remote possibility?

Government and Bank Negara cooling measures are meant to control the housing price so that speculation activity would not reach an unhealthy level. However it is unlikely to reduce housing price to a great extent unless we are talking about an economy crisis where the stock market takes a plunge, many MNCs closing down, and a lot more people losing their hard earned jobs.

At this early stage, the introduction of affordable housing scheme is just not good enough. Instead of just waiting for people to accept it, a substantial effort should also be spent on marketing in order to bring the awareness to the people in a proactive manner. Today, affordable housing is targeting those professional workers with a monthly household income up to RM10,000 per month. They are not just looking for home with four concrete walls. It is a living solution that everyone is seeking. A place where they can stay in a comfortable manner, with primary basic amenities within close proximity  that can serve their daily needs, particularly in getting to work as well as fulfilling the  education needs of their children.

Financial institutions, developers and government can definitely work together to do much better by providing more affordable options, better first home ownership scheme and not to forget a stringent regulation to ensure the units are primarily meant for home owner ‘s occupation however not to derive profitability from rental yields.

For Penangites, it’s time for us to rethink all the possible affordable options available. There are also plenty of decent options available in the secondary market, which we should undertake to purchase before it gets out of our reach in the foreseeable future.

– Ken Lim
(Founder and Principal Reviewer, PenangPropertyTalk.com)

The inaugural Penang International Property Summit and an international property exposition will be held in January next year at the Subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (SPICE) in Relau.

The summit themed ‘Managing Future Trends and Challenges’ will be held on Jan 9 and Jan 10, while the property exhibition will be on show from Jan 9 to Jan 11.

State Housing and Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said although there had been many property exhibitions in Penang, the summit would be the first to have a conference as well as a property exhibition.

“In line with our aspiration of becoming an international and intelligent city, the con-ference is aimed at creating better awareness of the many issues that are faced by the industry players and their views will be heard by the state government, in order to further promote the property market in Penang,” he told a press conference recently.

He said several prominent speakers would speak on topics such as the challenges of affordable housing, incentives for first-time home buyers and greener buildings.

“There will also be a CEO round-table dialogue chaired by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. The dialogue is by invitation and is limited to 30 captains of the industry.

Event director Ong Ban Seang said there would be about 70 companies and developers participating in the Penang Property Summit 2015.

Source: StarProperty.my

The Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry has decided that the plan to compel housing developers to adopt the concept of build-then-sell will not be implemented next year.

Its minister, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, said it was to prevent shortage of houses in the market, which will cause a hike in housing prices.

“Our study showed that if we compel housing developers to adopt the concept starting 2015, it will contribute to the hike in housing price, and the small-scale housing companies or developers will not be able to develop any project as they have to bear all the cost,” he told a press conference after chairing the National Housing Committee meeting at his ministry Wednesday.

Abdul Rahman was commenting on the issue, which had become a hot topic of debate among developers and house buyers, following the announcement made by the former Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung that all housing developers would be compelled to adopt the build-then-sell concept starting 2015.

Under the concept, which aimed to stem the abandoning of housing projects, house buyer will only have to pay 10% deposit, while the balance of 90% would only be paid after the houses are completed.

Commenting further, Abdul Rahman said he had studied the Chor’s speech regarding the matter, which he made in Parliament in 2012, and found that Chor has just said that the government was planning to introduce the build-then-sell system in 2015 if the time was right.

“…and right now, we are in the opinion that the time is not right for the concept to the implemented, especially with the Goods and Services Tax set to be imposed in April,” he said.

The minister, however, said the ministry did not reject the concept, but would really encourage any housing developer to adopt the concept voluntarily.

“It’s a marketing tool for them, we congratulate and propose they should continue with that, but it cannot be enforced yet because we fear that the price of houses will continue to go up,” he added. – Bernama

Source: StarProperty.my

Tambun Indah Land Bhd has terminated its sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with TPPT Sdn Bhd to acquire 27 parcels of land in Seberang Perai, Penang for RM150mil.

The company said on Tuesday the SPA, signed by its unit Palmington Sdn Bhd on July 4, 2014, with TPPT had ceased due to non-fullfillment of a condition precedent.

The deal was to acquire the 209.54 acres of freehold land which is adjacent to the township currently developed by Tambun Indah Land, known as Bandar Tasek Mutiara (also known as Pearl City) in the locality of Simpang Ampat.

Tambun Indah said the aborted deal was not expected to have any financial impact on its financial year ending Dec 31, 2014 and that TPPT Sdn Bhd would refund the RM15mil paid deposit without interest.

It also said despite the cancellation of the SPA, it would continue to seek opportunities to build up its landbank further.

Source: StarProperty.my