Almost 70% of 159 respondents to the Real Estate Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (Rehda) property industry survey 2H2015 remained pessimistic on the property market for 1H2016.

Participating projects will be able to obtain up to three types of certifications.

The Malaysian Property Expo (Mapex) 2016 is expected to generate RM500 million in sales, said its organising chairman Datuk Ng Seing Liong.

Will the new policy address the problem of affordability for first-time homebuyers? The reaction from analysts and real estate agents has been mixed.

This was because even though PKNP’s affordable housing units in D'Aman Residensi and Casa Kayangan in Meru Raya, priced between RM150,000 and RM299,000 each, were fully booked when they were launched in May last year, some applicants had to cancel because they were unable to secure housing loans.

Developers will have to increase the prices of some homes to more than RM300,000 so that investors can purchase them.

The move to immediately limit sales of new homes priced up to RM300,000 to first-time homebuyers has drawn especially strong reactions.

Penang Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said the outlook for the property sector in 2016 remains positive, adding that there would still be demand for the affordable housing in the segment priced below RM1 million despite the bleak economic outlook and weak ringgit.

The property developers were ranked according to their overall score. After the points for the quantitative and qualitative attributes were tabulated, the results were audited by Deloitte Malaysia.

First House Deposit Financing Scheme was announced during the tabling of the Budget 2016 last month, but details on its implementation were not provided.