KUALA LUMPUR: The government should consider opening more land for development given that land scarcity has become a key contributory factor to rising home prices especially in urban areas.
Property portal PropertyGuru Malaysia recommends that under the Budget 2019, the government should open up more government reserve land for development with all land sales to be conducted via open tender.
At present, only a fraction of affordable home projects are built on government or state-owned land, it noted.
"Emulating the best practices of other countries by having a lower threshold for enbloc sales and encouraging redevelopment of old buildings and other government assets for affordable housing.
"Lower enbloc sale threshold can also be considered to facilitate development of older condominiums with lower density ratios thereby reducing price pressure on new land," the portal said in a statement today.
Further, in tandem with the spirit of fresh possibilities and optimism in a New Malaysia,
PropertyGuru also proposes that Malaysians should have greater access to financial information under the Budget 2019.
It said while loan approvals have improved, credit visibility remains a problem for most Malaysians.
PropertyGuru also proposes that more organisations provide quicker and more convenient credit checking facilities to accurately assess their Debt Service Ratio (DSR) and Eligible Mortgage Amount (maximum loan eligibility).
"Such checks should be made available for free to all Malaysians," it said.
Touching on revising interest rates for home loans, PropertyGuru recommends a reduction of 0.5-1.0 per cent off interest rates for first-time homeowners buying affordable properties within a specific price range.
This could be homes under public sector affordable home schemes such as Rumah Selangorku, Sistem Perumahan Penjawat Awam Malaysia (PPAM) or 1Malaysia People's Housing Programme (PR1MA) or even opened to affordable homes built by private developers, Propertyguru noted.
In addition to end-financing, PropertyGuru recommends reducing the upfront costs associated with a home purchase -- which include legal fees and stamp duties for the purchase of affordable homes.
In addition, Propertyguru also recommends public organisations and public listed companies to provide incentives i.e. housing loans, disbursements for down payment to help employees purchase a home.
"Given that a large number of Malaysians when buying a new home undertake extensive renovation works, PropertyGuru recommends construction of semi-built homes that allow homeowners greater flexibility in customising spatial usage and layout as well as fixtures and furnishings.
"This may contribute to lower construction costs and the savings reflected in the price of homes," it said.