Malaysians who will take part in the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) will benefit from several new incentives, apart from the 10 percent minimum discount, reported The Sun Daily.
For instance, home buyers don’t need to pay the stamp duty on housing loan contract for properties costing from RM300,000 to RM2.5 million, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on Friday (31 Jan).
For dwellings priced up to RM2.5 million, buyers also don’t need to pay the stamp duty on transfer of ownership or memorandum of transfer (MOT) for the first RM1 million, while the stamp duty for the next RM1.5 million will be reduced to 3.0 percent. But after the campaign ends, the rate will revert to 4.0 percent.
The aforementioned perks are only available for those buying new houses in the primary housing market during the nationwide Home Ownership Campaign, which is ongoing until June 2019.
These are in addition to other incentives announced in Budget 2019, like Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) RM1 billion Fund for Affordable Homes and stamp duty exemptions for the first-timers buying homes costing up to RM1 million.
Moreover, home builders have agreed to offer a discount of at least 10 percent for completed unsold homes that will be marketed during the campaign.
“Developers must advertise the prices before and after discount,” said Lim, who called on participating developers to increase their discount. For developers that fail to offer the 10 percent minimum discount, the authorities will penalise them, such as imposing additional tax.
He hopes the discounts and stamp duty exemptions will be able to spur Malaysians to buy residential properties, and in turn this is expected to reduce the supply glut of houses. As of Q3 2018, the number of unsold dwelling reached 30,115 units.
Meanwhile, National Housing Department Director-General N. Jayaseelan, also announced several additional incentives. For example, home builders will be permitted to waive legal fees and offer freebies like furniture to buyers
On top of that, developers are allowed to provide flexible payment terms such as staggered payments. However, these additional incentives are only valid for one year.
During the Home Ownership Campaign, the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA) will hold property exhibitions across Malaysia. The largest event will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on 1-3 March, during which RM5 billion worth of homes will be showcased.
Image source: The Sun Daily
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