The real estate industry hopes the government will extend the first-time homebuyer stamp duty exemption in Budget 2027, along with other measures to improve housing affordability, said Juwai IQI Malaysia Co-Founder and Group CEO Kashif Ansari.
The exemption removes stamp duty on both the transfer instrument and the loan agreement for Malaysians buying their first home priced up to RM500,000. This exemption saves buyers as much as RM11,250 and is currently scheduled to be in place through Dec 31, 2027.
“The stamp duty extension is a vital measure because it helps more than three out of four buyers. Homes worth RM500,000 or less, which are covered by the exemption, make up about 76% of all residential purchases.
“With the exemption, buyers pay nothing on the transfer and loan agreement. But imagine someone buying without the exemption. If they purchase a RM500,000 first home with a 90% loan, they would have to pay about RM9,000 on the transfer and RM2,250 on the loan agreement,” Ansari shared.
The Costs of Not Renewing the Exemption
“Here’s where things go wrong for buyers if the exemption is not extended until Budget 2028.
“You have to remember that the incentive is linked to the date that buyers sign the sale and purchase agreement, not the date they book their purchase. The reality is that, your booking date can be months before your signing date.
“Imagine a buyer choosing an off-plan home in the second half of 2027. They might find out that they don’t qualify for the exemption because they didn’t end up signing their agreement until 2028, which is outside the window.
“Not extending the exemption in Budget 2027 could also undermine the supply of good affordable housing. Any uncertainty regarding what will happen to the exemption in 2028 could cause developers to shelve proposed projects right now, in 2026.
“People buying homes in 2027 will lose real money if the government doesn’t extend the exemption in this Budget,” Ansari emphasised.
We Believe the Govt Will Extend the Exemption
“Every sign is that the government intends to extend the policy. Although the Finance Ministry’s (MOF) Pre-Budget Statement doesn’t mention it explicitly, it does put home ownership and rental affordability in its very first focus area.
“The good news is that, while the stamp duty exemption makes a big difference for buyers, it doesn’t cost the government all that much compared to the size of the budget as a whole. Our estimates are that the policy costs the MOF from about RM500 million to RM1 billion a year, within a budget that totals RM419 billion.
“Extending the exemption is our top goal for Budget 2027,” Ansari said.
However, he added that it’s not the only Budget measure that could improve housing affordability. What all these measures have in common is that they are relatively inexpensive for the impact they have.
“Our second goal for Budget 2027 is that the government helps buyers obtain mortgages in the affordable band, where loan rejections are highest. Three out of five loan applications are rejected. We want to make it possible for people who can afford to buy a home to obtain for the mortgage they need.
“Last, we would like to see the government bring back the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), which gives buyers not just the stamp duty exemption but also a developer discount. The HOC could save a typical young couple buying a RM450,000 first home about RM45,000, in addition to the stamp duty savings of around RM10,000.
“By reducing the total price, the HOC also makes it easier for buyers to get approval on their mortgage applications. So, it helps solve both the affordability and financing challenges.
“Here’s the real situation. The global economic situation is incredibly difficult at the moment. Even so, the government has managed to improve housing affordability and reduce the budget deficit, year after year. We think that extending the stamp duty exemption, bringing back the HOC and helping buyers obtain financing will all further improve affordability while costing the government a relatively small amount, considering their impact,” Ansari emphasised.
