PETALING JAYA: The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) has proposed six measures under Budget 2027, including a special Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) for unsold completed homes and expanded government-backed financing to help address affordability and housing demand.

President Datuk Zaini Yusoff said the proposals were aimed at addressing both the immediate issue of unsold completed residential units and longer-term challenges affecting home ownership and housing delivery.

Among the key proposals is a special HOC 2027 for completed residential units with a Certificate of Completion and Compliance, which Rehda said would help improve market liquidity and allow capital tied up in completed stock to be recycled into new developments.

The proposal comes as developers continue to face challenges converting housing demand into actual purchases, particularly because of end-financing constraints.

Rehda’s Property Industry Survey H1’26 found that 77% of respondents faced financing issues, with 84% of these respondents experiencing end-financing difficulties. Loan rejection rates were reported at between 31% and 45% for properties priced between RM500,000 and RM700,000.

Zaini said Rehda was seeking greater government support through the Skim Jaminan Kredit Perumahan (SJKP) to improve the purchasing power of buyers, particularly those who have difficulty meeting conventional lending requirements.

ent stamp-duty relief to residential properties priced above RM500,000 and up to RM1 million through a tiered relief mechanism for purchases made from January to December 2027.

Rehda said many prospective buyers may have sufficient capacity to service monthly housing repayments but face difficulty accumulating savings for stamp duty and other upfront acquisition costs.

It also wants the government to expand and enhance SJKP and other government-backed housing financing or guarantee mechanisms, as well as introduce step-up financing structures with lower repayments during the initial years of home ownership.

The measures are targeted particularly at young Malaysians, self-employed individuals, gig-economy workers and purchasers with variable or non-traditional income.

The survey also found that financing remained a significant constraint for developers and buyers, with the association identifying end-financing as a key barrier to converting prospective demand into actual home purchases.

On the supply side, Rehda is calling for a coordinated review of government-imposed costs and regulatory requirements affecting residential development.

It said rising infrastructure, utility, statutory, regulatory and compliance costs cumulatively affect project viability and ultimately housing affordability.

The association wants the government to consider the cumulative impact of new or increased charges on housing affordability and introduce an Affordability Impact Assessment for major new policies, regulations, standards and charges affecting residential development.

The call comes as developers face significant increases in construction costs.

Rehda is also seeking fiscal incentives to accelerate the adoption of construction technology and digitalisation.

It proposed accelerated capital allowances or investment tax allowances for qualifying expenditure on building information modelling, industrialised building systems (IBS), artificial intelligence, automation, software and equipment.

It also wants enhanced or double tax deductions for qualifying implementation, integration, cybersecurity, training and professional certification costs.

Rehda said the high upfront investment required for these technologies remained a barrier, particularly for small and medium-sized developers.

The sixth proposal focuses on green and sustainable housing, with Rehda calling for broader fiscal incentives to encourage developers and purchasers to adopt green building practices.

It proposed extending the existing Green Investment Tax Allowance and the Green Income Tax Exemption schemes for a further 10 years to provide greater policy certainty and encourage sustained investment in green development.
It also proposed stamp-duty exemptions for purchasers of certified green homes, with the relief tiered according to recognised green certification ratings.

Under the proposal, the exemption would be 100% for Platinum-rated homes, 75% for Gold, 50% for Silver and 25% for Bronze-rated homes.

Rehda said existing green incentives did not adequately benefit all property segments, particularly residential developments constructed for sale, while higher green standards could result in additional upfront costs for developers and purchasers.

The association said the proposals were intended to support housing affordability while ensuring that developers remained able to deliver quality housing in a financially viable and sustainable manner.