Johor Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (REHDA) called on the government to review the current threshold for property acquisition of foreigners.
The current measure was enforced by the previous administration to protect domestic prices from excessive speculation and enable locals to purchase quality properties worth less than RM1 million per unit, particularly residential units, reported The Star.
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Johor REHDA chairman Datuk Steve Chong Yoon On said the RM1 million per unit minimum threshold imposed in 2014 should be brought back down to RM500,000.
He emphasised that the Federal and Johor Government authorities should not be alarmed as local buyers will not be unaffected if the suggestion is approved.
The chairman noted that the reversion would not have much effect as developers only set aside 10 percent of the properties developed within their project to foreign buyers, while the rest are offered to locals.
“Malaysia is not going to lose anything as properties are immovable assets and they (foreign buyers) are unlikely to start tearing down their houses and transporting them back to their home country,” stated Chong.
And with Johor’s close proximity with Singapore, he believes the state government stands to benefit from Singaporeans owning properties most especially in Iskandar, Malaysia.
“Johor will collect quit rent and assessment rates from them as they also will spend their money on food, utilities, necessity items and bringing benefits to local economy,” he added.
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