In view of the retabling of Budget 2023, Mah Sing group has projected optimism about the property markets in 2023 as the developer notes signs of a healthy recovery in the real estate market across all segments.
The group has also called on the new government to take additional steps to increase homeownership by reviving the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), giving a one-off grant of RM30,000 to eligible first-time home buyers, offering fixed rate financing and step-up financing, and introducing tax exemption for end-financing interest incurred during construction.
While foreign home buyers make up a small percentage in Malaysia, Mah Sing hopes Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will consider lowering and standardising the minimum threshold for foreign property ownership to RM600,000, as well as incorporating more appealing policies into Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H) and promote Malaysia Premium Visa Programme (PVIP).
Additionally, it would like for the consideration of waiving or lowering taxes and levies on construction materials until prices stabilise, as well as offering attractive incentives for developments that incorporate green features. And hopes the government can incentivize developers which use the Industrialised Building System (IBS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM).
On the HOC front, Mah Sing said step-up financing allows middle-income buyers more time to improve their income during the first few years of home ownership. Higher margin of financing up to 100% for first properties to assist the M40 and B40 groups affected by the pandemic.
For all buyers, it proposes restoring the maximum loan tenure to 40 years, referring to gross income rather than net income for loan applications and allowing down payments to be made directly from EPF Account 2
