The Home Ownership Campaign was introduced previously to deal with the property overhang in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
THE Federal Government should extend the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) again this year to boost the housing sector.
Johor Real Estate and Housing Developers Association branch chairman Wong Boon Liang said the move was necessary to help developers now that Malaysia was transitioning into the endemic phase of Covid-19.
“This will definitely help us sell our properties and reduce the overhang,’’ he said when contacted.
Wong proposed that the government extend the HOC, which ended on Dec 31, 2021, for another six months starting June 1 to Dec 31, 2022 as this year is expected to be a recovery year.
“The campaign would bring positive impact to the property market which has faced challenges and uncertainties since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country early 2020.
“An extension of the campaign will allow more prospective buyers, especially first-timers, to own homes as developers participating in the campaign are offering discounts,” he said.
Wong is optimistic that the opening of the borders between Malaysia and Singapore beginning April 1 would positively impact the Johor property market.
He said thousands of Malaysian workers who were stranded in Singapore since the first movement control order began on March 18, 2020, were now back in Johor.
Wong said their return would boost the local economy as the money earned in Singapore would be spent in the state.
“Malaysians working in Singa-pore but living in Johor Baru make up a good percentage of house buyers in Iskandar Malaysia,’’ he added.
