Did you know that there’s such a thing as the National Housing Policy 2.0? Hopefully readers of kopiandproperty.com do. The National Housing Policy 2.0 was unveiled to the public in January.
All policies are as good as the team behind it and the time at which it was completed. However, with more views from other experts as well as with the passing of time, perhaps it may need some tweaking too.
The purpose is simple – to benefit Malaysians in need of a home sweet home so that they are not left behind. Own a property, escape poverty
In an article in Edgeprop.my, Sarkunan Subramaniam, Knight Frank Malaysia’s managing director said that while the National Housing Policy 2.0 was a good plan, it needed more research.
Initiatives by many parties to make housing more accessible and affordable are greatly appreciated but some need improvements.
For example, the Rent-To-Own scheme enables buyers to rent their homes for five years before applying for end-financing in the following year.
“We note that in order to prevent speculation, these houses under RTO can only be resold to the ministry.
“Whilst we understand that KPKT (Ministry of Housing and Local Government) wants to prevent speculation but it is not advisable to have direct government intervention through purchasing of the homes.”
He added, “To curb speculation, taxation mechanisms such as the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) and stamp duties are good enough.”
Sarkunan also said, “Whilst land is a state matter, the federal government should streamline the quota and the release mechanism in all states.
“For example, the situation in Johor where the Bumi quota is 40%, the slow release is choking developers’ cashflow.”
It is true that RTO homes should not be resold to the ministry unless of course the whole process is extremely efficient.
Otherwise, it should be directly sold to qualified buyers who have already applied and been approved by KPKT, for example.
There is really no need to add another layer because control could be within the process itself.
By the way, after RTO homes are sold to the ministry, could the process be shared transparently to all so that we are aware of what happens next?
The National Housing Plan 2.0 should take the views of many more into consideration too.
Perhaps even prominent real estate bloggers who are independent can be invited for this session. Hopefully this year, many more deserving Malaysians will own a home.
This article first appeared in kopiandproperty.com
Charles Tan blogs at property investment site kopiandproperty. He dislikes property speculators and disagrees that renting is better than buying. He thinks it’s either property or poverty. He is presently the CEO of an auction house auctioning assets beyond just properties.