Property Hunter Magazine Issue 63- February 2015 | Page 66

COFFEE TALK | kopiandproperty.com

PROPERTIES IN 2015?

TOUGH TIMES

T

he Real Estate and
Housing Developers
Association (REHDA)
has a few negative
news for the market
for 2015. It said that
2015 is going to be tough times
ahead for their members because
of the rising costs of doing business,
tight monetary policy and also the
new GST. I think the rising costs
of doing business encompasses
everything including the compliance
costs, the material costs, the labour
costs etc. As we noted, there are
still shortages of construction
workers in the industry.

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The compliance costs most of the
time would be the ones caused
by the state governments. True
enough, REHDA’s president
Datuk Seri Iskandar Mansor said
that depending on states, the
premium charges are contributing
tremendously to the overall cost of
doing business. Thus, this now varies
between three to eighteen percent.
I seriously wonder which state is he
talking about. GST is nothing more
than a negative sentiment caused
by uncertainty. As soon as everyone
understands that the uncertainty
they are thinking about is actually a
certainty, this would no longer figure
in their decision of whether to buy

or not to buy. The question is when,
right? Let’s assume this would take
six months.
REHDA did suggest something
beneficial for the first time property
buyers. He said that GST should be
exempted from properties which are
priced below RM500,000, specifically
for first-time buyers. This would help
them to get a roof over their head.
In fact I think this may be faster than
all the PRIMA or even other states’
affordable housing plans.
I know of a few states which have
spoken about this affordable
housing for the longest time and
yet until today, it is still just words
that it would be ready in the near
future. For these first-time home
buyers, I think this request is valid
and should be approved. Whether
or not it can help a lot is another
matter because if I am a first-time
home buyer, I would also consider
the secondary properties and not
just the primary ones. After all,
there are still attractive properties
amidst the current market. Prices
for the secondary market has not
climbed a lot when compared to
the primary ones.

Personally, I think demand is
still strong, just that for now it is
subdued. While pricing is one issue, I
think the main issue