Susan Wong
KOTA KINABALU: The various housing initiatives in Budget 2013 will enable more Malaysians, including youths, to own a home, said Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) president Datuk Susan Wong Siew Guen.
Applauding the increase in income limit for individual loans from RM3,000 to RM5,000 per month for the My First Home scheme as well as the price limit on residential properties to RM400,000, she said these measures will ensure the success of the scheme.
Susan said many applications of the My First Home scheme were previously rejected when the scheme was launched last year due to stringent conditions.
“In Sabah, there was only one successful applicant of the My First Home scheme since it was launched,” she said, adding that increase in the ceiling price of residential homes for this scheme would benefit more people.
Furthermore, Susan said, more people, particularly youths, would be encouraged to apply for the scheme upon the cancellation of a savings record equivalent to three months installment and minimum employment of six months.
She also welcomed the government’s effort to build 123,000 affordable housing units in strategic locations in 2013 as this would enable more citizens to own a home.
The initiative will be implemented by 1Malaysia People’s Housing (PR1MA), Syarikat Perumahan Nasional Berhad (SPNB) and National Housing Department.
“Although we currently do not know how many affordable housing units will be allocated to Sabah, we believe that Sabahans will certainly benefit from the initiative.”
As for the revision of Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), Susan said it would not have a major impact on properties in Sabah as property investors only made up a small portion of house purchasers.
The government has proposed that RPGT from the disposal of properties made within a period not exceeding two years from the date of purchase be taxed at the rate of between 15 per cent, and 10 per cent within a period of two to five years.
For property disposed after five years from the date of acquisition, RPGT is not applicable.
“The majority of property investors in Sabah also opt for long-term investment. They usually sell the units after renting it for five to 10 years,” Susan explained.
Hence, she believed that increasing RPGT for the disposal of property within five years would not have a huge impact in Sabah.