News about budget

SINGAPORE (Feb 20): Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced, with immediate effect, in his Budget statement today that the CPF housing grant has been raised to S$50,000 (RM157,144) for first-timer couples buying four-room or smaller HDB flats from the resale market.

Banking sector Maintain neutral: On Tuesday, Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA) announced that the Special PR1MA End-Financing Scheme for first-time house buyers announced in Budget 2017 will benefit at least 15,000 buyers.

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Property development sector Downgrade to neutral: Property sales recovered in the third quarter of 2016 (3Q2016) as six of the seven developers under our coverage registered 18% to 160% quarter-on-quarter sales growth.

Budget 2017, tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Oct 21, has a heavy slant towards improving the well-being of the ordinary rakyat, with particular emphasis on the middle and lower-income groups (M40 and B40).

KUALA LUMPUR: Rather than subsidising the cost of senior citizen living, property industry experts suggested that reverse mortgages could better help senior homeowners be more financially independent in their golden years.

PETALING JAYA (Nov 2): To increase the property purchasing power of Malaysians, industries have to work together to create a high-wage society, said a panellist during a panel discussion at Rehda (Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association) Institute's Budget Commentary 2017.

PETALING JAYA (Nov 2): The government should consider setting aside 50% of the land near Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations for affordable homes, the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) said, Bernama reported today.

KELANA JAYA (Nov 2): Budget 2017 may seem favourable to the construction sector as many infrastructure projects have been announced, but Master Builders Association Malaysia immediate past president Datuk Matthew Tee said the  effect may be limited as only a few big players will be awarded the jobs.

KELANA JAYA (Nov 2): The Malaysia property market will be experiencing a soft-landing as property prices are still holding up although price growth is decelerating, said Sunway Business School Professor of Economics Yeah Kim Leng.