PETALING JAYA: A house buyers association has called on the government to expand its i-Miliki home ownership initiative beyond the primary market so that more Malaysians will benefit from it.
Launched on June 1 last year, the scheme allows first-time buyers purchasing brand new homes from developers a full exemption on stamp duty payable for houses below RM500,000. New buyers of units costing between RM500,000 and RM1 million are entitled to a 75% waiver.
The initiative is scheduled to end on Dec 31 this year.
National House Buyers Association (HBA) secretary-general Chang Kim Loong questioned why the scheme was limited to units in the primary market, despite the bulk of property transactions in the segment taking place in the secondary market.
A 2022 property market report issued by the national property information centre (NAPIC) said the resale of homes made up 86.2% (335,409 units) of the transactions in the residential property sector, while sales in the primary market accounted for the remaining 13.8% (53,698 units).
“Why are the benefits not extended to all groups of buyers and investors in the secondary market,” Chang asked.
He said that doing so would greatly help the government achieve its ambitious new home ownership target.
On Sunday, local government development minister Nga Kor Ming said the government had the home ownership target for Malaysians at 100%.
Chang added that instead of granting exemptions for payment of stamp duty, the government should take steps to ensure that developers reduce the prices of residential property which have become unaffordable.
“In a capitalist world, an entrepreneur will reduce prices if he cannot sell his goods. In any business venture, the entrepreneur takes a risk with the aim of getting a profit. If he has mispriced the units, he should drop prices to clear his inventory stock.
It’s odd to expect the government to solve the problem of mispricing,” he said. - FMT
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