Duty waiver boost for housing sector

28/02/2002 The Star By V.K. Chin

THE waiving of stamp duty for houses in new projects as proposed by the National Economic Action Council will certainly help to boost the residential property sector. As thousands of ringgit could be saved house-buyers should take advantage of this scheme.

But, the houses, condominiums, apartments or flats must be built by developers registered with the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda), the Sabah Housing Developers’ Association or the Sarawak Housing Developers’ Association to qualify for the exemption.

The other condition is that the sale and purchase agreement must be executed on or after Jan 1 but not later than June 30, 2002. However, Rehda president Datuk Eddy Chen clarified that developers who are not the association’s members could also enjoy this exemption though they would have to pay higher registration fees.

The NEAC’s latest move should also boost the reputation of the three developers’ associations. This makes a lot of sense as the associations’ members are made up of the major players in the industry and hopefully with such recognition, more developers would be keen to sign up with them.

It is in fact better for consumers to buy housing units from developers who are in the business for the long haul rather than from fly-by-night ones, which have given the industry a bad name because they are just interested in one or two projects.

Many of the abandoned projects and the low quality finish are mostly associated with these new players who are just out to make some quick money and so they are not so bothered with the end product.

Should they encounter financial difficulties, these newcomers will just abandon their projects leaving the purchasers in the lurch. They will also be extremely difficult to trace when there are serious problems concerning their projects.

At least Rehda members will be more responsible with proper addresses where unhappy customers can make complaints. While some of them may not be that responsive to complaints, they will have to do something if the problems should come to the attention of the media.

The association has been very active of late in organising special events where participating members can dispose of their housing units. Through such efforts, the developers have managed to reduce their surplus stocks.

These events are important especially when there is a glut in the property market with billions of ringgit’s worth of residential housing being unsold. At such sales, special discounts are offered to interested buyers.

The stamp duty exemption shows that the government is sensitive to any sector facing difficulties and ready to step in with incentives to help out. In this respect, the NEAC has been very proactive in finding ways to stimulate the economy.