Mah Sing Group Bhd said in its wishlist for Budget 2024 that the government could revive the home ownership campaign (HOC) and enhance the financing scheme to ease the way for homebuyers.
“The HOC has proven to be vital in helping people secure their first home, thereby reducing the housing overhang at the same time, its founder and group managing director Leong Hoy Kum said today.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also finance minister, will table next year’s budget for debate at the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 13.
Leong noted that the mid-term review of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) has shown that the country’s economy is on track to grow from 5% to 5.5% per year for the remainder of the 12MP period (until 2025), with domestic demand, particularly private sector spending, serving as the key driver.
He said the government could start by reintroducing the exemption on duty for properties priced from RM300,001 to RM1 million.
He also proposed that the maximum loan tenure be extended to 40 years and assessment of eligibility be based on gross income rather than net income when reviewing loan applications.
On the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, Leong proposed that the threshold, in terms of minimum income, liquid assets and fixed deposits, be lowered to pre-2021 levels.
He also recommended that the programme be tailored to meet various categories of applicants by imposing different levels of qualification.
Leong said that promoting the Malaysia Premium Visa Programme (PVIP) could also help make the country the preferred choice for foreigners looking to live in and invest outside their home countries.
He said the government should also waive or reduce duties on construction materials until prices normalise.
“We hope the government can consider lifting the taxes and levies imposed on imported construction materials,” he added.
According to data from the department of statistics, the unit price index rose by between 2.1% and 8.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) for almost all construction materials except metal sections, steel and plywood.
“This added to the challenges faced by property developers on top of inflationary pressures and economic uncertainties,” Leong said.
Other items on the Mah Sing wishlist are tax exemption for interest incurred during construction, reducing and standardising minimum threshold for foreign property ownership to RM600,000, incentives for developments incorporating green features as well as incentives for adoption of Industrialised Building System (IBS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM).