PETALING JAYA, Jan 31 — Developers have agreed to offer a 10 per cent discount for all upcoming and unsold properties as part of the public-private Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) 2019 that started earlier this year.

The Real Estate and Housing Development Agency (Rehda) announced the offer at a press conference for the 2019 edition of the Malaysian Property Expo (Mapex), which will take place nationwide from March to June.

The 10 per cent discount comes on top of the government’s move to waive the stamp duty for homes priced up to RM1 million, announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. 

“The (discount and) stamp duty waiver...is one of the solutions to solve the overhang and mismatch in supplies,” Lim said at the press conference.

Under Budget 2019, the government announced a 100 per cent stamp duty exemption only for properties below RM300,000 while those priced between RM300,000 to RM500,000 would be levied at a reduced rate of 2 per cent.

The stamp duty waiver will only be valid for purchases made during the HOC campaign ending in June.

Mapex 2019 will be held in conjunction with the HOC 2019, a federal initiative to make home purchases more accessible to lower- and middle-income earners.

Housing was a key election pledge by Pakatan Harapan before it took power in the May 9 general election.

Rehda said up to RM5 billion worth of properties will be offered at both HOC and Mapex, with prices ranging from RM150,000 up to RM2.5 million.

“Working together to ensure the success of the expo speaks of our joint commitment to give the rakyat the best selection of houses to meet their needs,” said Datuk NK Tong, who heads Rehda-HOC committee.

Government bodies will also take part in the HOC expo, meaning aspiring homeowners can expect to see homes in the “affordable” segment on offer.

Those joining include the Housing and Local Government Ministry, developers UDA Holdings Berhad, Perbadanan PR1MA, the National Housing Company (SPNB) and equity fund Permodalan Nasional Berhad.

The HOC 2019 expo will be officially launched on March 1 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.