/// East Malaysia Property News
SHAREDA Fears More Cannot Afford Houses After
GST
“Demand for properties,
however, will prevail but
loan approvals will dampen.
“Right now many are
complaining about not
being able to obtain homes
although they are earning a
monthly salary of RM2,000.
SHAREDA President, Francis Goh
It is likely that more
Sabahans will not be able to
afford to buy houses once
the 6% overnment Services
Tax (GST) is implemented on
April 1 this year.
Despite about 50,000
units of affordable homes
believed planned for Sabah
in five years, Sabah Housing
and Real Estate Developers
Association (SHAREDA) fears
that more Sabahans may
not be eligible for housing
loans.
Naturally, with the
introduction of the GST,
property prices will go up
and are expected to slow
down due to uncertainties
in the bank borrowing
policies, said its President
Francis Goh
.
“Imagine those with a way
much lower salary, when
the GST is implemented,” he
said after listening to two
expert presentations on the
impact of the Budget 2014
on the State’s real estate
industry.
Two experts have earlier
presented the impacts of
the introduction of the
GST, Real Property Gain
Tax (RPGT) and Developers’
Interest-Bearing Schemes
under the Budget 2014.
While banks normally
approve loans based on
the assessments on their
creditors, the stringent
process is normally
regulated by the central
bank, Bank Negara Malaysia.
Instead, Goh suggested that
the Government look into
introducing rent-to-own
schemes than affordable
homes. He said by providing
a low rental fee more will
likely purchase the units
after a certain period, rather
than burden housebuyers
with a 10% deposit up front
and facing the risk of not
getting any loans.
“Affordable homes are also
market-driven, whereby the
respective buyers need to
get their loans approved on
tougher borrowing policies,”
he said.
However, Goh opined
that the Real Property
Gain Tax will not pose any
impact on the speculative
buying in Sabah, saying
there are more genuine
buyers to only about 1% of
speculators.
Besides, he said, “How is the
RPGT being implemented.
Should housebuyers pay
up straight, or is it part of
the Sales and Purchase
Agreement or whether the
RPGT is liquefied into the
house selling price?”
He said the Government
should be clear on the RPGT
which was once known as
the Anti-Speculative Act.
200 Premises in Sabah Do Not Have Safety Certs
He told a seminar on
fire safety in Sandakan
that to date, only 281
such premises had been
accorded a fire certificate.
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Nearly 200 public and
business premises in
Sabah that require a safety
certification from the
Fire and Rescue Services
Department have yet to do
so.
14
Department director Nordin
Pauzi said these were
among the 474 premises in
the state that were req ired
u
to be certified to be safe
from fire risks.
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