BUDGET 2019 | The proposed incentives such as the exemption of the real property gains tax for low-cost, low-medium cost and affordable housing with prices below RM200,000 as contained in Budget 2019 can help stabilise the current market, said Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.

She said the budget focused on house ownership for the B40 group.

Budget 2019 is a holistic development plan that is targeted to address problems facing Malaysia, she said in a statement.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, when tabling Budget 2019 in Parliament yesterday, among others, said that a fund amounting to RM1 billion would be established by Bank Negara Malaysia to help those in the lower income group earning not more than RM2,300 per month to own a house for the first time.

The fund will be made available from Jan 1, 2019 at participating financial institutions for purchase of  affordable homes priced up to RM150,000.

For first-time home-buyers purchasing residential properties priced up to RM500,000, the government will exempt stamp duty up to RM300,000 on sale and purchase agreements, as well as loan agreements for a period of two years until December 2020.

- Bernama