MALAYSIA'S PROPERTY MARKET REMAINS SOFT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) - The property market in Malaysia is still soft as higher inflation and the gloomy outlook for the global economy has impacted buyer sentiment.

"People are taking a wait and see attitude," Real Estate and Housing
Developers Association (REHDA) president, Ng Seing Liong said.
The recent government incentives for the property industry has not helped
much to spur buyer sentiment, he told Bernama recently.

"Probably, there should be more incentives such as the stamp duty
waiver
for the transaction of houses costing RM1 million and below," he said.

Currently, the stamp duty exemption is only for houses valued at
RM250,000
and below.

In explaining the rationale behind his call, he pointed out that it
was necessary as between the budget and now, there had not been much of a push
in the property market.

According to Ng, the property industry is in dire need of an impetus for
growth as houses valued between RM400,000 and RM500,000 were not selling as fast
as expected.

On other other hand, he highlighted that developers and contractors faced
rising cost problems.

He also suggested that the government increase the price of low cost houses
to RM75,000 in urban and RM60,000 for rural areas.