KUCHING: Now is a good time for Sarawakians to buy houses if they have steady employment and income.
This was pointed out by Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Sheda) Kuching branch chairman Datuk Sim Kiang Chiok.
“With the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) which offers a minimum of 10 percent discount of the approved price by developers and free stamp duties on legal documents by the government, this is the time to get a good deal.
“HOC will end by May 31 this year, so don’t let this this good opportunity pass you by,” he said in a statement issued today.
He added the Covid-19 pandemic would be over soon with the availability of the vaccine and thus, Sarawakians should take advantage of this time to buy a property before the economic recovery.
Sim hoped that the compliance cost could be reduced for the developers to build houses at reasonable cost, apart from a rise in income of potential purchaser with the prediction of ever rising cost after the pandemic.
He also hoped that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) would reduce the strict requirements in lending by banks to developers and purchasers alike.
Sim said the pandemic had disrupted the economy due to strict implementation of the movement control order (MCO) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of the virus.
“This has put a halt on our economic growth from March 18 until early May last year. The implementation of the conditional MCO and recovery MCO still restricts the economy from fully operating. Our borders are still closed and have affected a sizeable segment of our economy especially in tourism and service sectors.
“However, how the pandemic is effecting our economy is different from any economic recession or credit crisis, as our bank system is still in good working order; this can help to recapitalise and restore cashflow in our businesses when the pandemic is over.
“So when the vaccines can be administered to majority of our population, we can resume our economy back to usual. The government has announced that the first vaccine will be in Malaysia in February and my hope is that we can all be vaccinated by the third quarter of this year,” he added.
