‘Higher RPGT does not work’

KUALA LUMPUR: Imposing higher real property gains tax (RPGT) will not be effective in arresting rising property prices, say industry players.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said on Tuesday that his ministry is studying the imposition of a higher RPGT next year to stabilise housing prices.

Currently, an RPGT of 15% is imposed on properties sold within two years of ownership and 10% if sold within three to five years. Properties sold after five years are exempt.

“Politically, the government needs to be seen as doing something about property prices. The RPGT is a good hint to speculators that the government plans to cool the property market without affecting genuine homeowners,” said DTZ Malaysia director Eddy Wong.

“Singapore has so far imposed eight rounds of cooling measures. It can mean that the previous seven rounds did not quite achieve the intended effect and that’s why there is an eighth round. But this time, the Real Estate Development Association of Singapore is saying the Singapore property market is approaching ‘inflexion point’, so perhaps this time it will work?

“Two of the fundamental drivers of property prices are a growing young population who are setting up their own households and income growth. Some people may speculate but so long as these drivers are there, prices will go up,” he said. 

CH Williams Talhar & Wong Sdn Bhd managing director Foo Gee Jen proposed some changes to the existing RPGT structure and additional measures to curb rising prices.

“The government may want to consider raising the RPGT quantum and period, and impose a stamp duty on property sellers who have a lot of transactions in a certain timeframe,” he told The Edge Financial Daily.

“I am in favour of a further 5% increase in the RPGT and stretch the disposal period from two years to three years. For example, the RPGT on disposals made during the first three years is raised to 20%. 

“Most speculative transactions happen around the second and third year. The third year is when most properties are completed. So this longer period will cover a wider basket of speculators,” Foo explained.

On the imposition of stamp duty on sellers, he said: “For example, you can impose a 3% stamp duty on sellers who have sold more than four properties in the last five years.”

Foo urged the government to monitor other trends in the primary market. These are bulk purchases, group discounts, rebates and freebies such as waiving legal fees and offering partially furnished units, which are usually included into the price tag.

“I think there is a need to make sure property prices are sustainable and affordable. If prices are sustainable, in line with the income of the rakyat, there is no need to reduce prices,” Foo said.

Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association national treasurer Datuk NK Tong said raising the RPGT may work in the short term but will backfire.

“To introduce cooling off measures, including raising RPGT, at a time like this will slow down the construction of houses. While this will stabilise prices in the short run, the shortage of supply will further drive up prices in the medium to long run,” he said.

Tong said cities in Australia — Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth — are ranked among the top 10 most livable cities in the EIU Global Livability Survey 2012. Kuala Lumpur ranked 77 out of 140.

Australia has 22 million people living in 9.1 million homes in the city, while Malaysia has 20 million people living in only 4.8 million homes in urban areas.

“If we are to be a truly developed nation, Malaysia needs more houses.

“There will be a higher number of people per household, which could also be due to multi-generational homes rather than married couples moving out,” Tong said.

Assuming no further population growth, he estimated that Malaysia would need 8.3 million homes or a new supply of 100,000 homes per annum over 35 years for the 20 million urbanites in Malaysia for the country to be as livable as Australia.

“Everywhere in the world, the need for affordable housing has been one of the key responsibilities of the government. Malaysia tried to address this through many agencies in the past but the numbers are still way behind. Hopefully with the advent of PR1MA [1 Malaysia Housing Programme], it can finally catch up with the demand of the people.

“Governments are also challenged to find ways to increase the incomes of people in order to keep up with inflation. Artificial price controls are not sustainable in the long run. What should be done is to address the need for us to move ahead to be a high-income nation, and this is in line with Malaysia’s aspiration to be a truly developed nation,” said Tong.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on August 30, 2013.

文秀打造高品质房屋 Raffel Residence 18.18将获入伙准证

（槟城讯）由文秀产业集团在槟岛甘密山打造的“Raffel Residence 18.18”房屋计划，近日获新加坡建筑业评估机构，通过建筑质量评估体系（CONQUAS），在100分中的评分为85.2分，这个分数也是槟州有史以来，获最高分数的房屋计划。
这间来自新加坡的建筑机构（Building & Construction Authority），是国际权威的建筑评估机构，该机构主要检测建筑的质量及手工。
骆南辉：CONQUAS评分获高分　深表荣幸
文秀产业集团企业总监骆南辉受询时说，该集团是国内历史悠久的房屋发展商，拥有极其丰富的房屋发展经验，所推出每一项房屋计划，都会关注建筑的质量及手工。
他说，该集团如今其中一项的“Raffel Residence 18.18”房屋计划在CONQUAS评分系统中获得高分，这是对文秀产业集团的一种肯定，槟州不曾有过一项房屋计划获得如此高分，文秀产业集团就做得到。
他强调，新加坡建筑机构是受到国际认同的房屋评估机构，该机构的CONQUAS系统也在房屋发展业中具有权威性，能够在此系统下获得如此高分，文秀产业集团深表荣幸。
他也借此机会，感谢主要承包商钟建筑工程有限公司、工程与绘测师Arkitek Permata、一众顾问等合作伙伴。“文秀产业集团能够获得这项荣誉，也是因为有这些合作伙伴的配合，所以我非常感谢他们。” - 光华

Of speculators and bogus house buyers

Immediate government measures are needed to tackle issue 

“Harga Rumah Melampau” – that’s the desperate cry of the rakyat against skyrocketing house prices as headlined by one of the widely-read Bahasa Malaysia newspapers. In English, it translates to “House prices are ridiculous”.

The National House Buyers Association (HBA) has consistently called for government intervention to prevent a “homeless generation of young adult Malaysians” from emerging, especially in urban and sub-urban areas, who, if not for wild speculation, would be able to buy their own houses. 

In time, Malaysia will face a “social crisis” with serious political implications if the majority of the lower and middle-income groups do not have affordable houses.

The matter is of grave urgency because the homeless hail from the lower middle class, usually graduate couples or the self-employed earning reasonable income and expecting to buy a house to commence their family life in a fixed abode. 

In the Government’s drive to home ownership, low stamp duties have been imposed to encourage first-time house buyers to own a house.

But speculators have taken advantage of this to accumulate multiple properties and manipulate property prices with conniving cash-strapped housing developers. There are three types of purchasers, namely:

> Necessity: Those who buy out of need (owner-occupied),

> Precautionary: Those who buy to hedge against inflation and for long-term investment, and

> Speculative: Those who buy to “flip” and make money against everyone’s interest except their own.

This is a “ticking time bomb” and immediate government measures are needed. The government needs to take proactive measures to stop the steep rise in property prices due to false demand and excessive speculation fuelled by easy mortgages and the low Real Property Gains Tax or RPGT.

The less affluent, who constitute the majority of the population, have been marginalised, with those having more than others accumulating property far in excess of their needs. Urban Well Being, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan in his keynote address at the recently concluded 16th Housing and Property Summit reiterated: “Of greater concern is the fact that income growth has not been keeping in tandem with the increase in house prices. 
Data from the Department of Statistics Household Income Survey, 2012, shows that approximately 80% of Malaysians are earning below RM6,954 per month. Based on the credit line of 30% of the net income for housing loan, at the current Base lending Rate (BLR) of 6.60%, the maximum price of houses which can be afforded by this group (ie, 80% of the population) is only those costing RM300,000 and below.” 

The question is: What are the impediments to the success of a truly affordable housing scheme for the people? 

PR1MA

The 1Malaysia Housing Programme or PR1MA is an important targeted government initiative with the promise of an affordable home for every couple that deserves it. The government’s main contribution to ensuring affordability is its land, which is a significant subsidy. It is necessary for the organisation to have a clear criteria on these affordable homes. 

Already, there are some disturbing signs that the initiative may be petering out even before implementation. PR1MA has already advertised its products at RM400,000 (from the earlier RM450,000 that I had heard about!). With government land being made available, these prices do not reflect the “subsidy” element and are beyond the reach of the intended income group.

It’s already priced too high for the majority of genuine house buyers. PR1MA is a noble idea, but is it being properly implemented? Are they building the right product, at the right place, with the right pricing and of the right numbers? 

Even more unsettling is the invitation to private developers to build PRIMA homes and sell them under the PRIMA umbrella. Why? This adds a commercial profit element without any gain to the purchaser.

PR1MA will have to be a comprehensive and discrete regime in all aspects of house purchase; criteria for qualifying; build and sell; types of houses; the exclusion of commercial properties; the grievance redressal regime between purchaser and PR1MA; controls over sub-sale, and of course, appropriate sanctions for dishonesty in dealings with PR1MA.

Investors Club

The situation has been getting worse with the self-glorified “Investors Club” mushrooming in the housing market. They manipulate the property market through en-bloc purchases, say 100 to 200 parcels in stratified properties, with some nearly dominating 50% of housing units and commercial developments.

The modus operandi of the operators of such a club is to negotiate as block purchasers with cash-strapped developers and bargain for a pre-launch block discount of, say, 25% off the sales price. The operators then circulate amongst their members for a “bargain” early-bird discount of 15%, thus making themselves a 10% clean profit. The members of the Investors Club will subsequently dispose off their “wares” upon delivery of vacant possession at a further profit, especially in this current inflated property market.

Seminars like “How to become a billionaire” and “Invest in properties without deposits” will trigger young adults into thinking of shortcuts toward great riches. 

Naive and greedy investors get enticed into such antics and are ready to be baited. You need to attend one of these seminars or conventions or whatever to understand more.

You could also surf the Internet and key in the word “Investors Club” to know their modus operandi and the names of the housing developers they are in alliance with and who participates in their “schemes”. There are instances when one needs to join as members at prices ranging from anything between RM300 and RM5,000 to enjoy a lifetime of free seminars and tips. Some are automatic members without having to pay.

There are different business models with some pooling their financial resources to buy bulk into a project, exiting together when prices go up and splitting the profits. It makes sense to developers who merely want to sell as many units as possible to attain the pre-requisite margin sales imposed by their banks or financial institutions (FIs) prior to the drawing down of their bridging loans. 
Some banks or FIs impose a mandatory sale of 50% before loans are available for drawdown.

DIBS

In the developer interest-bearing scheme (DIBS), the developer bears the interest otherwise payable by the purchaser to the purchaser’s bank during the construction period. In other words, the purchaser doesn’t have to pay anything to his bank until construction is completed. The catch here is that the purchaser is committed to buying the house as in any Schedule G or H of the sale and purchase agreement. This is not a build-and-sell scheme although it is often passed off as such. The second catch is that the interest that the developer has been paying has actually been factored into the purchase price. 

On top of this, should the project be abandoned, the purchaser would still be saddled with the purchase loan, the interest on it and an incomplete house.

In the event the developer cannot settle the loans he has taken, by charging the purchaser’s property, the purchaser’s house will be auctioned off. 

The purchaser will still have to pay the loan he took, pay the interest and will not even have the incomplete house to look at! 

DIBS is popular with speculators as they pay nothing to make a profit. 

Their initial downpayment and deposits are sometimes factored into the purchase price by the participating developers, and some FIs do not even require that the developer collect the deposit that has to be paid by the so-called purchaser.

This is one of the factors making for “bogus” house buyers, who merely flip the property at the right time. 

We hope that Bank Negara will come up with a policy change to curb DIBS. It is worth noting that Singapore had banned DIBS in 2009. 

It has come to our attention that developers are already working on counteracting measures even before Bank Negara moves to implement anything. 

After all, they are always one step ahead of the authorities.

Government initiatives and HBA’s proposals

The HBA was invited to present its 10 proposals to curb the escalation of house prices at the following recent forums: Budget Consultation, 2014 in Putrajaya chaired by the Prime Minister; 
Providing Greater Access to Home Ownership chaired by the Deputy Minister of Finance II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohd Hanadzlah; and Initiatives to Reduce House Prices initiated by the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister .

The government now seems to be serious about doing something. If it is so, then it has to make several hard decisions. The government must take immediate proactive steps to curb the uncontrolled escalation of property prices. Reducing speculation will translate into lower property prices.

HBA detailed proposals to raise stamp duties and the RPGT and the mechanism to lower the Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) as a means to stop price speculation, which has pushed property prices through the roof. 

The three pertinent instruments amongst seven others that can be employed have been summarised in a table in the previous page. 

Conclusion

Considering the deep pockets of property speculators, the effectiveness of these proposals remains to be seen, but, if passed, will make speculation unworthwhile.

> Chang Kim Loong is the secretary-general of the National House Buyers Association (HBA): www.hba.org.my, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) manned by volunteers. He is also the NGO councillor at the Subang Jaya Municipality Council.

The Star

27万个单位受影响 槟岛门牌税2015年调整

（槟城30日讯）槟岛门牌税将在2015年进行调整，部分单位的门牌税将调高，部分则将调低，27万个单位受影响。

至于调整的幅度， 当局仍在商讨当中。槟岛市政局财务管理小组交替主席陈翰威接受《光华日报》访问时披露，市局正检讨调整门牌税事项，包括探讨是否调涨工业区的产业或酒店产 业门牌税，与此同时，或降低某些产业类别，如廉价组屋的门牌税，以惠及更多低收入市民。不过，他重申，这一切仍在初步商讨阶段，调整幅度还未确定，新税率 料2015年落实。

陈翰威：5年检讨一次税率

他指出，近年来的产业价值和收租率逐年增长，市局营运开销也增加不少，包括垃圾处理费、员工薪水等，加上2008年来所进行的各项市政局计划，如提升巴刹计划2000万令吉，州回教堂路提升计划7000万令吉等。如果仍维持旧税率，将不足以应付日常开销。

“根据地方政府法令，虽然市政局有权每5年检讨一次税率，但是为了不加重人民的负担，民联政府自执政以來都沒有做过调整。”

门牌税占据槟市局约60%收入，上一次的调整是在2006年，包括今年已连续8年没有调涨。换言之，民联政府自2008年3月8日执政槟州以来，未曾提高槟岛的工业、酒店、商业及住宅的门牌税。

陈翰威表示，新税率事项料于明年6月的市政局例常会议寻求通过，之后提呈给州政府批准；一旦通过，业主仍有权力提出反对意见，市局将成立小组聆听业主的声音。换言之，门牌税新税率也只会在2015年才有望落实。- 光华

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PR1MA Phase 1 to feature 15 affordable housing projects

BY NG BEI SHAN
BEISHAN@THESTAR.COM.MY

PR1MA Corp Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: More than 20,000 homes will be built under 15 affordable housing projects in Greater Klang Valley, Johor, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak.

“These 15 new developments are under Phase 1 of the PR1MA programme. I am confident that by year-end, we will have more on board to meet the 80,000 homes as announced in Budget 2013,” said PR1MA Corp Malaysia CEO Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias.

Specifications of the 20,519 houses, including pricing and floor plans, will be announced in the next few months.

Prices of the houses are below RM350,000, he said at a press conference yesterday.

On top of the 15 projects approved, there are also plans to launch new projects in the next few months in Setapak and Jalan Jubilee in Kuala Lumpur, Bayan Lepas in Penang, two others in Johor Baru and one each in Sabah and Sarawak.

Infrastructure work on three of the projects, namely Alam Damai, Cheras; Pasir Gudang, Johor; and Seremban Utara had started, said Abdul Mutalib.

The units range from 1,400sq ft to 1,700sq ft for landed properties and between 670sq ft and 1,300sq ft for high-rise units.

Buyers should be able to take ownership of the houses within 24 months for landed houses, and 36 months for high-rise residential ones from the signing of the sales and purchase agreement.

Abdul Mutalib said it had received 250,000 registrations for the PR1MA houses and urged eligible buyers to register.

He also cautioned interested buyers on scams involving fee collection by some quarters for the housing scheme application.

“No fees are imposed on the registration of PR1MA houses,” he said.

Eligible applicants aged 21 years and above, who do not own more than one property in Malaysia and have an individual or combined gross monthly household income of between RM2,500 and RM7,500, can apply via www.pr1ma.my.

He added that the properties cannot be transferred or sold to another party under a 10-year moratorium and that the homes must be owner-occupied.

Govt to consider subsidy rationalisation, GST and review RPGT

PETALING JAYA: The Government’s Fiscal Policy Committee is to consider implementing measures to improve the country’s fiscal position that will include subsidy rationalisation, a Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a review of the real property gains tax (RPGT).

The committee, chaired by the Prime Minister and which includes officials from the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) and the Finance Ministry, will also look to tackle the narrowing current account surplus and carefully space out public sector projects to ease the impact on the national accounts.

In the meantime, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah said the Government was fully committed to continue BR1M (1Malaysia People’s Assistance) payments to the lower income groups.

“In the longer term, the Government plans to introduce a comprehensive social safety net for vulnerable groups which is targeted to be implemented in 2015,” he said in a statement.

He said the EPU had been tasked to lead a team to propose a social safety net system and that the Government would consider having a more targeted subsidy system instead of a blanket approach.

Slowing exports have hit the economy of late with the gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of this year coming in at 4.3%.

Apart from weakness in the external sector, problems have also cropped up with imbalances in the property sector, high household debt and rising Government debt and fiscal deficit.

The Government said it was committed to ensuring that its debt did not exceed 55% of GDP, that its revenue exceeded operating expenditure and the fiscal deficit did not exceed 4% of GDP.

Husni said with the narrowing current account surplus, all future public sector projects would be considered carefully and also the current account position in the balance of payments.

“Projects that will have a big impact of public finances will be reviewed and sequenced properly to avoid excessive strain on the Federal Budget,” said Husni.

He added that to ensure money was spent wisely, an Outcome Based Budgeting will be introduced in a pilot programme at the Finance Minstry, Health Ministry and International Trade and Industry Ministry.

“Public sector projects with low import content and high multiplier effects will be given priority, without compromising economic growth,” he said.

Focus group discussions of improving exports and growing niche services have been conducted and the Government has received several ideas to be considered for Budget 2014.

It will look at ways to enhance Malaysia’s economic competitiveness and diversify the country’s export markets, especially in the logistics sector.

The Government will also look at beefing up the tourism sector with 2014 being Visit Malaysia Year and is targeting more direct exports of Malaysian agro-based products, such as bird’s nest and cut flowers.

AmResearch Sdn Bhd economist Patricia Oh said with a budget deficit target of 3% in 2015, the importance of having clarity on fiscal reforms was important.

“The Fitch sovereign credit outlook downgrade will have made this clear to the Government,” she said.

Oh, like other economists, believe that the Government remains under pressure where the introduction of measures on particular sources of revenue are concerned. “There may be a market reaction to certain measures, especially where property is concerned,” Oh said. - The Star

Support for increase in real property gains tax

PETALING JAYA: Property executives are in favour of an increase in the real property gains tax (RPGT), saying the move would help temper excessive speculation in a market that saw average house prices gallop by double-digits last year.

Industry participants who spoke to StarBiz argued that while some measure of speculation was necessary for a healthy market, it had, in recent times, become unreasonable.

“This is evident in certain locations. But any cooling measures should be implemented carefully. We don’t want to kill off the whole industry,” said Foo Gee Jen, managing director of CH Williams Talhar & Wong Sdn Bhd, a property consultancy.

He suggested that the Government raise the first tax bracket for RPGT to three years from two currently, and the tax rate to 25% from 15%. These policies needed to be targeted at specific individuals rather than across the board, affecting, for instance, those who had committed to multiple transactions within a given time, Foo said.

The Government might also consider putting the brakes on the developer interest-bearing scheme (DIBS) and other rebates to house buyers, which have served to artificially inflate prices, he added.

DIBS, a popular easy financing package offered by property developers in joint-promotion activities with banks, was banned in Singapore two years ago.

Under the scheme, buyers need not fork out much for their downpayment, as the developer supposedly absorbs the initial interest. This is until the buyer takes possession of the property.

A high number of buyers enter this scheme with the intention of flipping the property when they gain possession of it. This scenario fuels speculation.

The Government is mulling the possibility of increasing RPGT to tame runaway house prices.

The availability of various rebates, valuer Elvin Fernandez said, had also led to much of the speculation and demand in the primary market.

An analyst with a non-bank backed research house told StarBiz that any fresh cooling measures should be selective so as not to harm the real demand for homes.

“The point is to weed out the flippers,” she said. Although talk of further policy tightening would likely weigh on sentiment for property stocks, their longer-term sales and earnings remained sound, given that speculators probably comprised only 5% to 6% of total bank loans, the analyst said.

In a note yesterday, CIMB Research said it saw a “very high chance” that the RPGT would be expanded when Malaysia’s budget is tabled in October, in line with the trend over the past two years.

“There is a possibility that other measures to curb speculation may be imposed as well, such as restrictions to the DIBS. These measures would help dampen property speculation, at least temporarily.

“However, the Government would have to strike a fine balance between lowering speculative activities and excessive tightening, as the key problem in the sector is not overly strong demand, but the lack of supply.

“Moves to curb speculation could inadvertently lead to even slower supply growth, which would exacerbate the demand-supply imbalance over the longer term,” the brokerage cautioned. - The Star

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Penang Real Estate | Penang Property | Penang Properties: Apartment / Condominium Below RM600K in Penang Wanted

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