Saturday, February 25, 2012
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Malaysia Real Estate Report Q2 2010
Oversupply in the office sector meant that the real estate market headed into the downturn at a disadvantage, but rental rates have stabilised during the second half of 2009. Occupancy in Kuala Lumpur’s golden triangle remained close to 100% and although office space availability will increase in 2010, this should be seen as a positive, tenant’s marketplace, not a squeeze on rents. According to CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), vacancy and rentals began to level out in the fourth quarter of 2009 and new supply coming on stream over the next three years will continue to make for a highly competitive leasing environment.
Property investment in Malaysia is set to increase further than the increase of 424% q-o-q to MYR880.3mn seen in Q309, as a change in international investment regulations means foreign acquisition no longer require FIC (Foreign Investment Committee) approval. Financial incentive packages have boosted the residential market and together with the likely increase in foreign buyers, developers are more confident to launch new projects. This is showing through in the news that developers are reporting into 2010, with new launches and new projects starting.
Source article
Sunday, October 25, 2009
5 Percent RPGT In Budget 2010, 1976 RPGT Rule No Longer Applicable
Reiterating this on Sunday, Second Finance Minister Datuk Husni Hanadzlah said that the rate imposed is irrespective of the holding period and the category of the owner.
He said that this rate of five percent will be implemented through the Real Property Gains Tax (Exemption) Order 2009.
This Order will be gazetted as soon as possible and effective 1 January 2010.
"Therefore, the current rate of RPGT which is higher than 5.0 per cent as in Schedule 5 of the Real Property Gains Tax 1976 will no longer be applicable," he said in a statement here.
This means that the previus rate of 30 per cent decreasing to 5 percent based on the holding period of the property is no longer applicable.
However, exemptions to the individuals are given as follow;
* The level of exemption is increased from RM5,000 to RM10,000 or 10 per cent of the chargeable gains, which ever is the higher;
* Gifts betwen parent and child, husband and wife, grandparent and grandchild; and
* disposal of a residential property once in a lifetime.
-- Source at BERNAMA
Only 5 percent Real Property Gains Tax next year, says Ahmad Husni.
"The real Property Gains Tax for the first year is five per cent and is the same for the second, third, fourth and fifth year," he said in clarifying a news report in the business page of the Star Saturday.
He said the Real Property Gains Tax as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when tabling the 2010 Budget in Parliament yesterday provides exemption to the sale of a residential property for the first time and transfer of properties among family members like father to children.
The Star, in its BizWeek Section, reported that the Government proposed to re-impose the Real Property Gains Tax for monetary gains from property disposals.
The report said based on the Finance Bill, disposal within two years of acquisition will be taxed 30 per cent, 20 per cent in the third year and 15 per cent in the fourth year while disposal within five years and beyond will still be subjected to five per cent.
The latest measure has been described as "a knock-out punch" by Ronnie Lim, Deloitte Malaysia Country Tax consultant.
On no bonus for civil servants, Ahmad Husni said the country's financial deficit stemming from the global economic recession did not permit the Government to give bonus to civil servants.
He said the decision whether to give or not to give bonus to government employees must be viewed in the context of government financial constraints due to declining revenue.
"That's why the government gave RM500 special payment as we are aware there are civil servants who needed cash incentives from the government to tide over their living expenses.
"So, under the current circumstances even the RM500 is big enough," he said when responding to queries on the RM500 special payment to civil servants from Grade 41 to Grade 54 and to government retirees who went on compulsory retirement.
The special payment was announced by Najib, who is also Finance Minister, in his 2010 Budget yesterday. The payment will be made in December, incurring the Government RM400 million in additional expenditure.
Source at BERNAMA
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Are we attracting foreign buyers?
The Real Estate
By ANGIE NG
MALAYSIA stands out as one of the few countries in the world that have extensively liberalised their property markets to attract foreign buyers.
The country’s current investment environment is especially inviting, with no restrictions on domestic funding for foreign investment in local properties, in addition to further deregulation in Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) guidelines.
Foreign acquisition of residential property priced above RM250,000, and commercial property and industrial land valued at RM500,000 and above will not require FIC approval.
However, from Jan 1, 2010, the minimum threshold of residential units that can be sold to foreigners will be doubled from the current RM250,000 to RM500,000.
While other neighbouring countries impose various restrictions, Malaysia allows the purchase of freehold property by foreign purchasers.
Many countries including Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines do not allow foreigners to buy their freehold property. In Singapore, foreigners are only allowed to buy strata property, except on Sentosa Cove where they can also opt for landed property.
To buy a residential or commercial property in Thailand or Indonesia, a foreigner needs a local partner to get approval for the transaction.
The prices of our property are also much lower compared with those in other countries.
Despite the much better terms, lower prices and the offer of freehold property, foreigners are still not coming in droves to invest.
Of the total property transacted nationwide, less than 5% – around 3.5% to be exact, were purchased by foreigners. This compare with about 25% to 30% of foreign purchases in Singapore today.
It goes to show that by dangling “carrots” alone to entice foreign investors will not carry much weight and attract the right targets to our shores.
So, how can the government’s liberalised environment and industry efforts to promote foreign real estate purchases translate into greater interest from foreign investors?
To set up an international market place for our property, the Malaysia Property Inc (MPI), a joint public-private sector initiative, has been launched to promote Malaysia as the preferred international real estate destination.
The country is targeting RM200bil in foreign direct investment (FDI) into the real estate sector over the next 10 years.
The MPI has been allocated a grant of RM25mil by the government to kick start its promotional efforts through road shows and conferences in various target markets including Britain, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East.
These efforts will go a longer way if they are undertaken cohesively and holistically together with the Tourism Ministry to promote Malaysia as a favourite tourism and second home destination.
One way of showcasing Malaysia is through the “back to basics” gamut of the people’s way of life, culture and religious practices.
Promoting a strong Malaysian identity that reflects the true multi-racial and social-cultural make up of the people will go a long way to cement a stronger bond and acceptance among the various ethnic groups and in the process, raise the country’s attractiveness among foreigners as a worthwhile place to visit or settle down.
The relevant authorities and industry players must understand that foreigners who are adventurous enough to venture out of their “comfort zone” and their home country to buy property in a foreign land have very unique needs.
For those who are considering to retire or set up second homes, what they are looking for is the chance to savour the “local experience” of living in a foreign country.
They are certainly not looking to settle down in another concrete jungle where they may probably come from.
That could explain why Bali and Phuket, despite their largely “laid back” and undeveloped environments, are favourites with foreign visitors and retirees.
Closer to home, Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak are also favourite attractions among foreign visitors because of their unique heritage and environment.
By leveraging on our uniqueness and the many pluses – a year round tropical climate, affordable cost of living, good infrastructure, and a largely friendly, English speaking and peace loving Malaysians – there are much that the people and country will gain by further harnessing its diversity in this highly globalised and borderless world.
Given the big contribution made by the property sector to the country’s economy – last year the industry contributed close to RM11bil to the economy – efforts by the government and industry players to promote Malaysia’s real estate to the rest of the world should be further harnessed.
And given its close connection to the people’s basic lifestyles and interaction with each other, all Malaysians have a role to play to ensure the efforts are successful.
·Deputy news editor Angie Ng hopes Malaysians will take pride in their strong bond and friendships built over so many generations and leave a legacy that will make our future generations truly proud.
Source article The STAR
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Video Latest Kinrara homes sold in three hours
| Written by Racheal Lee |
| Tuesday, 18 August 2009 10:31 |
PETALING JAYA: Aug 8, 2009 was not just another Saturday at the Perumahan Kinrara Bhd sales office in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, Selangor. More than 100 home buyers, some of whom had been camping there for 10 nights and 11 days are waiting in a queue to purchase homes at Sentosa, a link house development in Phases B39/B40 in the freehold Bandar Kinrara township.
The queuing had started on July 29 with 20 hopeful buyers at the covered corridor outside the sales office. On Aug 7, a day before the launch offering 80 units of homes, they were moved to a nearby tent set up by developer I&P Group.
There was a slight commotion about 30 minutes before the launch when some people formed another queue. There was some exchange of words with those in the official queue but calm returned in time for the launch at 9am.
The launch had attracted overwhelming response as many believed these were the developer's last batch of link houses in Bandar Kinrara 5. All the 80 link homes were sold in three hours.
Read the full report in the Aug 17, 2009 issue of City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia.
Source, The Edge.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
M'sia set to attract foreign property investment in a big way
The Business Times
TO help offset a drastic drop in private investment, Malaysia plans to aggressively internationalise its real estate and has set a target of attracting RM20 billion (S$8.2 billion) in foreign investment over the next decade.
It has tasked a new public-private entity called Malaysia Property Incorporated (MPI) with improving the level of foreign investment in the sector, which is currently a mere 2.5 per cent of the value of total properties transacted. In some other countries, foreign transactions as a total are in excess of 30 per cent.
Malaysia has turned to property investment following a plunge in private investment from a third of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1997 to 9 per cent at present. The drastic change in the global landscape and competition for global capital has forced Malaysia to liberalise a number of sectors - including property - where it was previously very protective.
Foreigners are allowed to own freehold residential property, and Malaysia's is some of the cheapest in the region with prime space going for RM1,000-plus per square foot.
The government also recently liberalised the sector by removing a key approval for foreign transactions except where the transaction exceeds RM40 million and involves a dilution of bumiputra interests.
But the current impediment, property players say, is widespread crime. Unless the government redoubles its efforts to contain crime, foreign investors will remain chary.
'To encourage foreign direct investment in commercial and shopping areas and in residences, we cannot but emphasise the increasing concern regarding personal safety and property security in our country,' MPI board of directors chairman Thong Yaw Hong said at the launch of the entity late last week.
'The business climate in Malaysia has, to some extent, been negatively impacted by the increasing number of companies indicating that crimes and thefts are a severe obstacle to investment.'
The perception of crime is also a reason hindering Malaysia's efforts to encourage multinational companies to establish their operational headquarters in the country.
Minister in the prime minister's department in charge of economic planning Nor Mohamed Yakcop acknowledged it was a problem - as is poor public transport - which leads investors to prefer markets such as Hong Kong or Singapore. 'We have taken note of it,' he said at MPI's launch.
The government will provide RM25 million in grants over the next five years to MPI 'to promote and brand Malaysia as a preferred real estate destination to international investors', with a matching amount from the private sector. MPI's target markets include the United Kingdom, West Asia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia.
This article was first published in The Business Times.