December 29, 2011

Biggest property news in Malaysia in 2011 Part 2


This is the continuation from my first blogpost on the 'Biggest Property News in Malaysia in 2011 Part 1'. In the first part, the issues were about affordable houses; the effect of MRT on the land cost and the tussle between the landowners and the MRT Corporation on the land acquisition process. The second part covers some of the news affecting investors in 2011 and the few mega property projects in the Klang Valley announced by the private sectors.

Here are four other property news in the limelight in 2011 :

5) 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in the news

Announced in 2010 as a fully government-owned sovereign wealth management fund with various fingers in various pies including; a joint-venture with PetroSaudi International Limited to invest in oil and gas and real estate which has since made 1MDB, according to their website, RM425 Million profit through part divestment; the building of Kuala Lumpur International Financial District (KLIFD) in the 30 hectares of the Imbi area bordering Jalan Tun Razak, Jalan Sultan Ismail and the MEX highway and the building of Bandar Malaysia at the current Sungai Besi airport which will offer affordable houses.

1MDB was in the news at the end of 2011 due to the funding that they were said to have received from the government a subsidy of RM1.11 billion in the 2012 Budget although they raised a sukuk worth RM5 billion in 2009; the lack of work on KLIFD; and the acquisition of the 495-acre land parcel which was the Royal Malaysia Arm Force (RMAF) Sg. Besi airport which will be turned into Bandar Malaysia. 

The first news is opposition's fodder which claimed that 1MDB seems to be getting funding which it does not need. The second news was finally put to rest with the tender process announced by 1MDB for major foundation work for KLIFD due to take off in early 2012. The last news ran smack into the competitive nature of other government agencies which have already been tasked with building such houses as the price of houses at Bandar Malaysia was announced to be between RM220,000-00 and RM300,000-00.

Here are links you can go through about 1MDB :

- 1MDB official website

- News about Bandar Malaysia in Sg. Besi
6) Return of the mega property projects

At the start of 2011, the mega projects seem to have lost some steam due to the property slowdown within the well-known area of the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur, or so it seems. This happened even when someone bought a RM38 Million penthouse condominium at The Binjai on the Park near KLCC in middle of 2010. It seemed then that the days of the launches of mega property projects in Malaysia are numbered. Then a few announcements which made headlines dispelled this notion. Some of these property developments were old news with new owners or new managements. Some were new projects which seemed to have been planned a long time ago but were just recently launched in 2011. Here are two of the most notables mega property project launches in 2011.

There seemed to be a lot more of property launches as we entered the middle of 2011 as opposed to the quiet 2009 and 2010. It is so much so that banks have started to be choosy in giving out loans. One of it those that made the news was the launch of a new mega development project by NAZA TTDI of their KL Metropolis at where the Matrade building is now situated. Spanning 75.5 acres, it is envisioned itself as the new international trade and exhibition district. Developed in the span of 15 years, it will be done in 3 phases. The gross development value is estimated at RM15 Billion and was launched by the Prime Minister in October 2011.

SP Setia, once a favored property counter on Bursa Malaysia, has finally launched its long awaited KL Eco City in November 2011, which is located at a narrow piece of land at the former Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum. Located at the opposite of the always busy Midvalley City, one can just imagine the hectic traffic situation of the area bordering Bangsar and the New Pantai Expressway, once it is completed. It will comprised of mixed-used commercial and residential properties which will be placed in a few towers within the 10.1 hectares of land. It is also said to be the first mixed-used commercial property to receive the currently sought after Malaysia Green Building Index (GBI) standard and will be completed in 10 years.

Links on the projects stated above and news on mega property projects :


- KL Metropolis website

- News on launch of KL Metropolis

- KL Eco City website

- News on the launch of KL Eco City

- Wrap up on mega property launches for 2011


7) Real Property Gain Tax

The tax treatment on the disposal of property was changed in 2010. Between April 2007 until the end of 2009, the Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT) was given a holiday. Due to the property market condition within those year, the move was done to fire up a lackluster property market as the world's economy took a tumble. When it was reintroduced in January 2010, the tax treatment for RPGT was totally a different animal than what it was  before April 2007.

Before April 2007, RPGT was tiered according to how long you have owned the property. RPGT is calculated based on the profit you make when you dispose of a property at a maximum of 30% within the first year of ownership but becomes 0% on the sixth year of ownership. This only applies to residential property. With commercial property, the amount of 5% from the profit will have to paid as RPGT even after the fifth year.

When it was reinforced (the law was never abolished but was just put on hold) in 2010, the tax treatment for the disposal of property was given a flat 5% tax from the profit you make if the sale was done within the first 5 year of ownership of the property. The way RPGT is collected also differs with a 2% of the transacted price has to be paid before being refunded by Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri once it is checked and cleared.

Now, in 2012, after it was announced in the 2012 Budget in October 2011, the RPGT was changed again. Starting from January 2012, RPGT will now be two-tiered. within the same vein when it was reintroduced in 2010, RPGT, which is taxed on any profit gained from the sale of a property will beat the rate of 10% for any disposal below 2 years of ownership. Any property disposed after 2 years of ownership but less than 5 years will still have a 5% levy but none will be levied after 5 years of ownership.

Links on the issue of RPGT :

- My blogpost on RPGT in 2012

- Official portal of LHDN

- Online brochure of RPGT by LHDN

8) Regulation for banks in giving out property loans

In 2011, as announced in Budget 2011, in order to slow down the overheating property market and to stop property speculator in damaging the economy of scale for genuine buyers, especially those who are in need of affordable houses, the government changed the rule on the amount of property loans given by financial institutions at any one time. Using Bank Negara Malaysia as the enforcer, financial institutions can only gives out housing loan in the margin of 70% for anyone who has more than 2 properties. It means that if someone who already has 2 properties bought using housing loans, the next property loan he takes will be limited to a margin of 70%. This does not deter anyone who is cash rich to buy more than two houses and still speculates.

The rule had affected sales of properties as only genuine buyers may now buy property and not speculators. The news of the change of how housing loan is given out by banks through a new ruling by Bank Negara Malaysia did not help, either. It was decided in not so many words, the criteria on the margin of loan and maybe the interest rate levied on a property loan will now change due to the way a housing loan application is calculated. On the table but not yet announced or implemented is the new rule where the calculation for an application of a housing loan will be based on nett income of a borrower and not the current usage of gross income. It may even means that one person or one household with incomes below RM5,000-00 can now only own one property below the price of RM300,000-00. It will be in line with the promotion of affordable houses by the government though.

The links on this not yet determined its accuracy news can be found below :

- News on the nett income calculation for housing loans

- Banks may offer more competitive home loans

- Round up of Budget 2012 on property and construction sectors



These are all the news I consider worthy to be mentioned as the biggest property news in Malaysia during 2011. Some are already being implemented and some are coming days. From what I see, there are only a few keywords to the news : Affordable houses and Curbing Speculations.


HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

1 comment:

Buy House said...

Appreciation for great content. I’m certainly glad I had taken the time to learn this.

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