Yes, developers can still proceed to build homes of over RM1 million in big cities. (I think this includes the usual few like Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Johor Bahru). This was just reported in the article in NST. Developers can build houses above RM1 million if they meet requirements. They can build as long as they meet the requirements from the Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Ministry. Its minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said, “Developers who want to undertake or build houses more than RM1 million at their choice of location in the city must write in an official application to the ministry. The approval of the project will depend on the need for the development in that area, the number of houses worth more than RM1 million which are sold or not sold in the area of request, and whether the appeal or application is suitable.”
According to the article, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had appointed five ministers to discuss and deliberate matters following the ban on high-end properties in the country by the Cabinet. These five include Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Minister in the Prime Miniter’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and Tan Sri Noh Omar. Leniency is now given after a discussion last week and this was also because most of these over RM1 million homes were mostly purchased by foreigners. Recently, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)’s quarterly bulletin reported that the total unsold residential properties for the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17) stood at 130,690 units, the highest recorded in a decade. In an earlier widely reported news, BNM also gave some pointers for consideration of all stakeholders. Read them here: Bank Negara’s 6 policy options. I like them all What Bank Negara wanted to point out was also that property market imbalances could pose risks to the macroeconomic and financial stability. Here’s that article in NST again.
Why was there a blanket ban on commercial and over RM1 million residential units? Perhaps the market is really in oversupply Did the government do the right thing by a blanket ban? Well, It really depends on the actual property So is the current solution the best? Well, five ministers may be better than one I guess. As for the property market and for the developers’ sake, I think it is still safe to take a look at their applications first before deciding. Let’s be savvy. Assuming they bought a piece of expensive land and they have 200 ready buyers for their development, there is no reason to stop them…. If the buyers are mostly foreigners, this is good for the property market of Malaysia too. As for the majority of us, well, anything above RM1 million has never been a target anyway. As for expensive units crashing the whole market with affordable units, here’s my view. Unsold units up 40 pct. Strategy ahead? Happy following.
written on 3 Dec 2017
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