REHDA Institute’s Housing Conference 2019: Making Malaysia’s Housing Purchases More Affordable

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The original article is published in Construction+ Malaysia online

The Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government, YBM Senator Dato’ Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah ibin Raja Ahmad Baharuddin Shah, officiated the REHDA institute’s Housing Conference 2019 on 20 Nov 2019 at Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa.

The conference provides a platform for authorities, developers and key industry leaders to share and exchange knowledge as well as ideas on issues faced by the industry through technology, financing and public policy.

This year, the conference focused on the theme of Making Affordability the New Normal, which highlights the growing concern for the soaring price of households in Malaysia. “The increasing concern for affordable housing in Malaysia has become eminent. As of October 2019, it is reported (Bank Negara Malaysia) that the affordability (in Malaysia) has deteriorated with the median multiple affordability (the ratio of house price to households’ annual income) rising to 4.8 times in 2016 from 3.9 times in 2012,” said the Deputy Minister.

To assist applicants to secure affordable housing purchases, several initiatives were presented during the announcement of the Malaysia 2020 budget in Oct 2019. These initiatives were one of many topics discussed during the event.

Rent-To-Own scheme (RTO)
RM10 billion will be provided by financial institutions with the government’s support through a guaranteed provision of 30 per cent or RM3 billion. This scheme is available for first-time homeowner purchase valuing up to RM500,000. 

Youth housing scheme
Putrajaya will extend its youth housing scheme from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. It is limited to 10,000 units of houses and offers a 10 per cent loan guarantee through Cagamas. 

Lower foreign buying threshold
To reduce the high number of unsold households, the government will lower the foreign buying threshold from RM1 million to RM600,000 for only the year of 2020. 

Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT) revised
In response to public views on the Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT) imposed on the disposal of properties after five years, the RPGT will be revised by changing the base year for asset acquisition on 1 January 2013 for assets acquired before 1 January 2013, as compared to the previous base year of 1 January 2000.