WITH the property sector expected to benefit from the government's stimulus package to be announced by the Prime Minister today, players in the sector are proposing measures that range from grants to first-time house buyers to a stamp duty waiver for purchasers of residential property.

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) president Datuk Jeffrey Ng suggested giving a one-time housing loan or grant to eligible first-time home buyers to boost demand.

''The amount could be about RM10,000 and the idea is to help first-time home buyers. Many younger couples cannot afford to come up with that amount of cash so easily,'' he added.

''If they sell the house later, they can pay back the loan or grant to the government, so the government is not losing out. It is normal for house buyers to upgrade and if they made some profit from the sale of the first house, it would not be difficult to repay the RM10,000,'' he said.

He said lowering the real property gains tax was another possible measure as some purchasers could be looking for another home as an alternative investment, while a reduction in interest rates, in view of the global outlook, would help to lower the overall costs of doing business for developers and attract buyers.

A stamp duty waiver could also be re-introduced for residential properties under construction to help purchasers cover incidental costs, he said, adding that the last stamp duty waiver ended on June 30, 2002 although purchasers of low-cost houses are still enjoying the waiver.

Ng said that to attract developers to take over and complete abandoned residential and non-residential projects, purchasers for these properties should be given the stamp duty waiver as well.

''Allowing purchasers who buy a residential property under construction to claim tax deduction against personal income tax for interest incurred for a home loan is another possibility,'' Ng said.

According to DTZ Nawawi Tie Leung executive director Brian Koh, developers who spend more time to research on market-driven products would be able to understand the market demand better, and hence avoid building excessively or churning out products which would not sell.

''With the days of mass marketing possibly over, developers need to think more creatively in terms of both the product development stage and the marketing process to bring in new buyers.

''Sometimes, the developers may need to revise their layout plans to accommodate products that can sell better with the changing market environment and the government might consider being more flexible with them when they apply for amendments to their plans, and process the amendments faster,'' he added.

Asked if the reduction of rental would help increase the take-up rate of office space, Koh said one of the characteristics of the office segment was that it was not price-elastic.

''Basically, if a tenant is renting an office space of 5,000 sq ft, even if he gets a 20% reduction in rental, he would not use the 20% in savings to take up an additional 20% extra floor space,'' he added.

The Source: The Star(21/05/2003)