Mah Sing Group Berhad hopes that the amended Budget 2023 will include better incentives and policies to promote foreign property ownership in the country.
Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum, the company's founder and group managing director, hopes that the government will take into account decreasing and uniformising the minimum threshold for foreign property ownership to RM600,000 across all states.
Leong additionally hoped that the government will enhance Malaysia My Second Home Program (MM2H) and promote the Malaysia Premium Visa Program (PVIP).
States now have different minimum thresholds for foreign property ownership.
According to Leong, the present exchange rate and the standardisation of the RM600,000 minimum threshold for foreign property ownership throughout all states will entice foreigners to invest in real estate here.
He said that instead of the substantial increase currently being made, the government should lower the minimum qualifying income, liquid assets, and fixed deposits if Malaysia is to continue to be competitive in luring more qualified foreigners to stay and invest in Malaysia.
Additionally, the government should impose numerous application classes that are specifically designed for distinct international candidates.
Further, all existing MM2H pass holders should not be affected by the new rules, while the duration of the MM2H pass shall remain at 10 years, he said.
"Foreign home buyers make up a small percentage in Malaysia. There should be more incentives to inject some excitement in the foreign property market and attract more foreign home buyers to invest in our country," Leong said in the company's Budget 2023 wishlist.
Overall, Mah Sing is upbeat about the prospects for the real estate market in 2023 as there are indications of a sound recovery in all real estate market segments.
The Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), which has been demonstrated to be crucial in assisting home purchasers to secure their homes while lowering the housing overhang issue, should be revived, he said, as part of the government's efforts to take further measures to encourage homeownership.
Mah Sing also proposes other measures including giving a one-off grant of RM30,000 to eligible first-time home buyers for properties priced up to RM500,000, offering fixed rate financing and step-up financing, and introducing tax exemption for end-financing interest incurred during construction.
"For all buyers, we propose restoring the maximum loan tenure to 40 years, referring to gross income rather than net income for loan applications and allowing down payments to be made directly from EPF Account 2," Leong said.
Leong hopes that the government will also take into account waiving or reducing taxes and levies on building supplies while also considering attractive incentives for green-friendly constructions.
The government has said that Malaysia will work towards becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 in Budget 2022.
Leong expects that the government will continue to promote the construction of green buildings and take into account offering developers small payments to incentivise the usage of solar panels and other renewable energy sources in developments.
"We also hope the government can incentivise developers which use the industrialised building system and building information modelling. As the property industry has a critical multiplier effect on more than 140 industries, this will have a broader impact on the overall economy," Leong said.