By Goh Kok Guan

GEORGE TOWN, Nov 7 -- Budget 2021 is expected to give a big push to the housing market and enable more Malaysians to own their first home.

International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Malaysian Chapter immediate past president Michael Geh said the five-year extension of the stamp duty exemption, aimed at reviving abandoned projects, would benefit both contractors and house buyers.

Geh, who is also senior partner of Raine & Horne, said the stamp duty exemption for the memorandum of transfer and loan agreement would stimulate and move both primary and secondary markets in the property market sector.

“The strong emphasis on affordability by home buyers (as stipulated in Budget 2021) will bring down the Malaysian House Price Index downwards to levels that are affordable to most Malaysians. The next five years would be the best time for Malaysians to buy their first home,” he told Bernama today.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, in his maiden budget speech yesterday, proposed a full stamp duty exemption to be given for deeds of transfer and loan agreement for the purchase of the first house worth up to RM500,000 to encourage home ownership.

He said the exemption is applicable for the sale and purchase agreement on purchases that are completed from Jan 1, 2021 until Dec 31, 2025.

Tengku Zafrul said the federal government would also extend the stamp duty exemption on loan agreement and deeds of transfer given to rescue contractors and original buyers of abandoned houses for another five years.

-- BERNAMA