RM2.47 bln allocation for public housing in Budget 2024 will foster more equitable housing landscape - Juwai IQI

KUALA LUMPUR - The provisions that Budget 2024 makes specifically for housing, including RM2.47 billion for the construction of people’s housing projects (PPR) and four per cent flat rate stamp duty on memorandum of transfer (MoT) by non-citizens and foreign-owned companies with the exception of permanent residents, is set to foster a more equitable housing landscape, said Juwai IQI.

Other provisions are RM23.37 billion to restore sick projects encompassing some 28,000 residences, RM2.47 billion for public housing projects, RM1 billion to revitalise identified abandoned projects, RM10 billion for the Skim Jaminan Kredit Perumahan, plus more than RM1 billion to sustain PPRs, construct affordable housing, maintain housing and improve housing infrastructure and repair property for underprivileged rural individuals.

In a statement today, co-founder and group chief executive Kashif Ansari said the reform of the real estate transfer stamp duty would institute a simplified structure, establishing a flat rate of RM10 for transactions where beneficiaries surrender their entitlements to eligible heirs under a will, Faraid or the Distribution Act 1958.

"This new system marks a departure from the intricate previous framework, eliminating the reliance on property valuation for determining stamp duty costs.

"Simple measures like the stamp duty reform may not have a big impact on the market but they make transactions less stressful and complicated, which is good for everyone,” he said,

On infrastructure, Kashif said the Budget 2024 promised to fund several projects that would have long-term positive impacts on property prices, including RTS Link with Singapore, whose analysis showed a potential increase in the number of cross-border residents in Johor by 50,000 by 2030.

He said other projects that would drive up property prices and change usage patterns are the Central Spine Road and Pan Borneo Sabah and Sarawak highways.

Besides that, he said the visa measures in the Budget 2024 should indirectly increase demand in the housing market with the changes to Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) likely to be the most significant.

"Expect more demand from foreign buyers for high-end homes and more demand from investors hoping to operate short-term stay rentals,” he added.

Meanwhile, echoing similar thoughts on affordable housing, PropertyGuru Malaysia country manager Sheldon Fernandez said the RM546 million allocation for the continued development of 36 PPR, including a new project in Kluang, Johor, would be key in stabilising the existing property market.

He also said that the initiative to increase allocations for the existing Housing Credit Scheme to RM10 billion, which benefitted 40,000 Malaysians, could encourage potential homebuyers to take the first step to fulfil their homeownership dreams. - BERNAMA