The RM55 billion in subsidies and incentives announced by the government during the tabling of the 2023 Budget are anticipated to address affordability difficulties among the general population, says Sheldon Fernandez, country manager for PropertyGuru Malaysia.
The firm congratulates the government for establishing a programme that would give first-time homebuyers up to a 75 per cent stamp duty discount on properties valued at RM500,000 to RM1 million through the end of 2023.
"This will hopefully encourage homeownership among first-time homebuyers and further spur the property market, as we have seen a dampened sentiment in the past two years," he said.
According to PropertyGuru's Consumer Sentiment Study H2 2022 (CSS H2 2022), 51 per cent of respondents believe they cannot buy a property without government support, while 69 per cent said they would buy a home if the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) were to be reinstated.
Fernandez said PropertyGuru Malaysia appreciates the government's increase in funding from RM361 million to RM460 million for new residential development and home improvements outside of the city.
He claimed that this is in line with the findings of PropertyGuru's Consumer Sentiment Study H1 2022, in which the respondents stated that, as a result of lifestyle changes, they prefer living outside of cities where there is more peace, greenery, better pricing, less densely populated areas, and larger homes.
"Following the announcement of the targeted construction of 500,000 affordable housing units by 2025, we hope that the government will work closely with property developers to provide accessible homes for future homebuyers," he said.
According to Fernandez, the CSS H2 2022 market survey found that three out of five Malaysians, notably non-homeowners, young people, and low-income individuals, do not find the selection of homes to be appealing when applying for affordable housing programmes.
"We hope that the government will take into consideration the needs of Malaysians to ensure that the low-cost housing projects being built will not go to waste and further contribute to property overhang issues in the country. We are also looking forward to the housing units worth RM358 million that will be built under the Rumah Mesra Rakyat programme," he said.
Fernandez said as outlined in the firm's wish list, it also hopes to see a focus on green development across the country.
He said that more can be done to support green and resilient urban development in accordance with the 12th Malaysia Plan.
"On this, we urge the government to consider incentivising developers to adopt accredited green certification tools to promote green development in the country and continue to push different industries to do their part in becoming more environmentally friendly," he said.