Property News

Budget 2021 to boost first-time house buyers’ market share – Juwai IQI

Asian real estate technology group Juwai IQI expects to see first-time house buyers increase their share of the market by up to five percentage points under Budget 2021.

Group chief executive officer Kashif Ansari said that would give them their highest market share on record.

“First-time home buyers currently account for 28 per cent of subsale and 35 per cent of new project purchases. That data comes from our third quarter (Q3) 2020 Malaysia Property Survey and Index.

“This is an excellent budget for first-time homebuyers and middle-income and lower-income Malaysians,” he said in a statement today.

Kashif said the higher home ownership rate will lead to greater wealth and financial security for young families in the decade to come.

Meanwhile, citing the Q3 2020 Malaysia Property Survey and Index, he said the industry expects residential prices to fall 4.8 per cent over the next year, before climbing back up on strong economic growth to register a 10.6 per cent gain over the next 24 months.

“Under the proposed budget, you might see a floor under falling average prices which limits the decline to three or four per cent,” he said.

Furthermore, he said the property industry was looking forward to the government’s new plan for the Malaysia My Second Home scheme.

“We hope the government will relaunch the programme to make the approval process faster and more attractive for foreign property buyers who hope to make Malaysia their second home.”

Kashif said the government has focused on the policies that will best help first-time house buyers in Budget 2021.

“The critical property-specific measures are RM1.2 billion for low-income house buyers, rent-to-own scheme, and stamp duty exemptions on both the instrument of transfer and loan agreements for first-time buyers with property worth up to RM500,000,” he added.

— BERNAMA