KUCHING: The re-introduction of the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) under the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) is a smart move by the government which has started the ball rolling in reviving the property market, said Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda) Kuching branch chairman Sim Kiang Chiok.
He noted that the government was providing stamp duty exemption on transfer of residential property, sale and purchase agreement, and loan agreement for the purchase of houses between RM300,000 and RM2.5 million.
“The developer will offer at least 10 per cent discount on the residential property for sales. This will create attraction and interest in the property market. This is a good time to look for residential properties during the HOC period from June this year until May 31 next year,” he said on Saturday.
Sim also noted that the government had announced real property gains tax (RPGT) exemption for the disposal of up to three properties between June 1 this year and December 31 next year.
“This will help the secondary market of residential properties, creating more transactions. This will also help to ease the process of residential property transaction during the exempt period,” he said.
“The third house loan financing limit worth RM600,000 and above will no longer be subject to 70 per cent of the value of the home during the HOC period, but is still subject to the financial institution’s internal risk management assessment,” he noted.
This was welcomed by property investors and would revive the interest in property as investment with good returns in rental, long term appreciation, and protection against purchasing power of the country’s currency.
“Developers will be able to attract more investors into their products,” said Sim.
While the recovery plan was much needed to restart the property market during this period, he emphasised that job security and availability of bank loans were important for the HOC to be successful.
He said that in the housing market, the three main players were the house-buyer, developer, and bank.
He said that when the economy was good, the potential buyer would be earning a good salary, the bank would be willing to lend, and the developer would be able to build and sell their properties to satisfy the basic need for good shelter.
Meanwhile, Sim commended Penjana, describing it as much needed to resume the economy with a boost.
He said the three-month extension of the wage subsidy programme under Penjana would assist employers in keeping their workers.
“The employment incentive programme to encourage employing the unemployed and youth is much welcomed and this plan is a very thoughtful initiative by the government to ensure that our unemployed can be deployed in a more productive manner.”
He said that the government’s wage assistance and existing six-month bank loan moratorium were helping the people from the negative spiral of loan defaults and unemployment.
Sim added that this negative spiral could lead to recession and even deflation to the economy if the nation’s exit plan was not executed correctly.
“In our property development industry, it will create abandoned projects and loss of jobs,” he said.
