More property owners keen to sell now, say estate agents

A government stimulus package has led to more interest among owners wishing to sell their property, say estate agents.

PETALING JAYA: Real estate agents say they are receiving more calls from house owners keen to sell off their property because of cheaper loans to buyers and an exemption on property tax for sellers.

Lim Boon Ping, president of the Malaysian Institute of Real Estate Agents, said the government had provided incentives to stimulate the market.

Interest rates on loans are now around 3%, causing monthly repayments to be lower. The Penjana economic stimulus package for property announced on June 5 provides an exemption on the Real Property Gain Tax on property sales.

Under the Penjana package, a 70% margin of financing limit applicable for 3rd new residential property valued at RM 600,000 and above has been uplifted.

The package also provides stamp duty exemptions for sale and purchase agreements until May 31 next year.

Lim said these three measures will stimulate sales and will also keep the new property market active.

“Of course market sentiments are still very low. Markets are badly affected after the MCO but these policies will stimulate the real estate market,” he added.

“We are seeing more motivated sellers willing to negotiate prices as they know buyers have more choices now but the market will not crash as there will not be fire sales (urgent sale, often at a steep discount), ” he added.

This comes as there were zero transactions during the movement control order that was implemented on March 18. There were also fears that job cuts and pay cuts could deter people from buying new homes.

But during conditional MCO in May, he said agents received more enquiries to sell their properties as people were allowed to view properties.

Furthermore, he said Bank Negara’s move to offer 6 month moratorium till September for loans helped the market as it acts as a “breathing space” for those who lost their jobs.

Others have an option to refinance their homes before the moratorium ends to lower their monthly installments.

However, more people are expected to rent rather than buy, he said. - FMT