KUALA LUMPUR: Real estate agents have greeted the government’s move of reinstating a fixed 5% real property gains tax (RPGT) effective Jan 1, 2010, with scepticism, saying the local property market was still on uneven footing.

KUALA LUMPUR: IJM Land Bhd led real estate stocks lower and builders fell after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak imposed a capital gains tax on property and the government cut development spending.

IJM Land, Malaysia’s fifth-biggest developer, slid 2% to RM2.44 at 10.28am on Oct 26, outpacing the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index’s 0.4% decline. IGB Corp lost 3.3% to RM2.07.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Abu Dhabi property market is expected to maintain a relatively strong position, fuelled by the existing meagre supply across all assets classes, compared with the other Emirates, according to CB Richard Ellis Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The government’s introduction of a fixed 5% real property gains tax (RPGT) effective Jan 1 next year is perplexing, to say the least.

If the surprise announcement by the prime minister when unveiling Budget 2010 last Friday was intended as a lenient and hence palatable variant of the RPGT before its waiver in April 2007, it could not be further from the truth.

LONDON: A prominent hotel and residential development project at 336 – 337 Strand, London, is up for sale. The partially-constructed project when completed will comprise a 173-key hotel finished to a five-star standard with 79 residential apartments with 92 underground car parking spaces, as envisioned by Forster + Partners.

Amanah Harta Tanah PNB 2 is disposing of three commercial buildings in the vicinity of Jalan Masjid India and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. For those eyeing this popular trading and shopping spot, the sale is an opportunity that does not come along often.

It is undeniable that many in the local property market felt the impact of the global financial tsunami. From 4Q2008, the outlook was dim as interest in properties waned. However, some properties have proven to be more resilient despite a drop in prices and transactions during the worst of the recession, such as bungalows in prime locations.

Developers in Johor Baru have reported improving sales since 2Q2009 in tandem with the overall economic outlook. “Low borrowing cost and payment schemes, such as zero- cost packages rolled out by developers, are helping to encourage more transactions,” says KGV-Lambert Smith Hampton Johor director Samuel Tan.There have not been many new launches as most developers are clearing unsold stock.

IPOH: The Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), effective Jan 1 next year, is only 5% irrespective of the property disposal year, says Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.

KUALA LUMPUR: Construction-based Ho Hup Construction Company Bhd is planning  new launches worth RM1.6 billion next year including a 24-hectar mixed commercial and residential development known as Jalil Green City in Bukit Jalil in the first quarter of 2010.