KAJANG: The government will look into narrowing the differences between property valuations done by the public and private sectors, says Lim Guan Eng.
The Finance Minister said the differences could be because of the different methodologies employed by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) and private sector valuers.
"As a government that has integrity, we want input from all stakeholders, and regular discussions should be held between JPPH and private companies," he said.
This was so that property valuations that accurately reflect the property market could be made, he added.
Meanwhile, LIm also said that under the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), which runs from January to June this year, early registration for properties worth RM9bil had been recorded.
However, he said this amount was the value of early registrations made, and not actual sales figures.
"This is not the value of purchases made, but early registration for those who indicated an interest in the property," he said.
The HOC was launched by the government to address the country's home ownership and overhang dilemma, with initiatives such as the exemption of stamp duties for residential units priced between RM300,000 and RM1mil.
These are only for properties of developers that participate in the HOC.
For houses sold above RM1mil and up to RM2.5mil, stamp duty exemption applies for the first RM1mil, and the rest will be charged at 3%.
Previously, a 1% stamp duty fee was imposed on buyers for the first RM100,000 of the purchase consideration; 2% for RM100,001 to RM500,000, and 3% from RM500,001 to RM1mil.
Stamp duty on loan agreements for properties up to RM2.5mil would be exempted, compared with the previous rate of 0.5%.
