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Here are some latest pictures I took today, they tested the water feature and thankfully, I was given an opportunity to take a glimpse of it. It’s almost 90% to its completion, personally I feel to be conservative, keys should be handed in Febuary 2009.

Living water feature, the sound of the water flowing really restores your soul!

Beautiful landscaping, really nice to jog around

Many ponds, I’m sure there will be fishes and water plants later.

Luxury is redefined now, is the green pasture you have around you home!

Very simple and special architecture to enrich the surrounding

Once again, I have to say Sime Darby delivered what they promised and looking at it, I am a very happy buyer! Some of the owners of Ara Hill had contacted me to check out the market, my advice to all owners is that to HOLD instead of selling the property.

I am planning to move in early 2010 and serve the home owners there, those who wish to sell their old properties or plan to rent out their Ara Hill units. I have received some interests from Japenese expats and others who are keen to rent such property, I am confident that when Ara Hill will be another signature development in Ara Damansara.

WISH TO VIEW/SELL/PURCHASE ARA DAMANSARA HOUSE? CALL RITA WONG AT 012-3130382 NOW!

Disclaimer: This is a personal weblog, reflecting my personal views and not the views of anyone or any organization, which I may be affiliated to. All information provided here, including recommendations (if any), should be treated for informational purposes only. The author should not be held liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein.

If you have been searching  for more information on the new Budget 2010 RPGT announced by our Prime Minister , you might be confused as some news reported that RPGT will fall back to the Real Property Gains Tax Act 1976, where seller of property can be tax up to 30% from their gains. In the other hand, you also read news that the new policy will only tax not more than 5%.  You can read the details of RPGT Act 1976 here.

Here are my views:

Short term (Now up to Dec 2009)
Speculators or Property investors (who hold more than a single property in hand) will try to offload their properties in hand to market. Also, owners who bought their houses long time ago (probably at developer’s price) that wish to upgrade/downgrade their home in the near future, may want to sell now than later as they are getting high gain. Example, some who bought Ara Damansara Double Storey Linked houses at RM 380K from developer and selling out to the market now at RM 680K, they will be tax up to RM 15,000!  The pressure will be on supply as there are more property for sale, hence buyers have more choices and sellers are more open to bargain. This is a good time for buyers who really wish to purchase house for their own stay.

Long term (Jan 2010 onwards)
As you may notice that Banks are slowly pulling back their low interest rate packages. Many foresee that Banks will no longer be able to maintain giving out such attractive loan rates. 5% RPGT and higher interest rates may dampen property buyers’ sentiments and may deter speculative activities to a certain extent, leading to lesser property investors in the market. However, this may not affect the interest of buyers who plan to purchase home for stay. There is also a possibility that prices of property may go up as sellers tend to factor in the RPGT into the selling the price. The demand in the market after January 2010 will probably depends on how government’s plan to launch a scheme that enables EPF contributors to utilise current and future savings in Account 2. This will enable them to obtain higher financing to purchase higher value or additional houses.

Do contact me (Rita Wong 012-3130382) if you are hunting for property or have a property for sale in Ara Damansara.

Source: Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 (Bernama) — The real property gains tax (RPGT) will be fixed at five percent on the gains from the disposal of real property effective 1 January 2010.

Reiterating this on Sunday, Second Finance Minister Datuk Husni Hanadzlah said that the rate imposed is irrespective of the holding period and the category of the owner.

He said that this rate of five percent will be implemented through the Real Property Gains Tax (Exemption) Order 2009.

This Order will be gazetted as soon as possible and effective 1 January 2010.

“Therefore, the current rate of RPGT which is higher than 5.0 per cent as in Schedule 5 of the Real Property Gains Tax 1976 will no longer be applicable,” he said in a statement here.

This means that the previous rate of 30 per cent decreasing to 5 percent based on the holding period of the property is no longer applicable.

However, exemptions to the individuals are given as follow;

* The level of exemption is increased from RM5,000 to RM10,000 or 10 per cent of the chargeable gains, which ever is the higher;

* Gifts betwen parent and child, husband and wife, grandparent and grandchild; and

* disposal of a residential property once in a lifetime.

Source: TheStar

THE Government has proposed to reimpose real property gains tax (RPGT) for gains arising from property disposal.

Based on the Finance Bill, disposal within two years of acquisition will be taxed 30%; in the third year, it will be 20%; in the fourth year 15%, while disposal within five years and beyond will still be subject to 5% tax.

The latest measure, which will come into effect in January next year, has been described as “a knock-out punch” by Deloitte Malaysia country tax leader, Ronnie Lim.

“It was merely four short sentences in the 2010 Budget speech. However, that short reference to RPGT carried a knock-out punch,” Lim said in a statement yesterday.

He pointed out that from the speech itself, many would have thought that a low rate of tax of 5% would apply to most gains arising from disposals of real property.

“Be prepared for a shock – this is not the case and the highest rate of RPGT will be 30%,” he said.

Most rates of RPGT from January 2010 will be restored to those prevailing immediately before its suspension in April 2007.

Lim said one notable difference was that the exemption from tax for disposals after the fifth year of acquisition has been removed.

“Even where a property was purchased over 20 years ago, a gain on disposal from 2010 will attract 5% RPGT (without any indexation of acquisition price to reflect current purchasing power of the ringgit),” he said, adding that a flurry of property transactions could be expected soon.

Concurring with Lim, OCBC Bank Bhd director and chief executive officer Jeffrey Chew described the measure as a counter-productive move in efforts to encourage property investments among local and foreign investors, particularly to attract real estate investment trust investors.

“Furthermore, this would make Malaysia’s property market less attractive compared to other neighbouring countries in the region despite our property prices being among the lowest in the region,” Chew said.

However, Khong & Jaafar Sdn Bhd managing director Elvin Fernandez gave the thumbs up to the RPGT, saying “it shows that Malaysia, like other Asian countries, is not for unfettered speculation.”

“The RPGT is an anti-speculative tool, not a revenue earner for Government coffers,” he added.

To promote home ownership and enhance the people’s quality of life, the Government has also proposed a scheme to allow Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors to utilise their current and future savings in Account 2 for home purchase.

Meanwhile, to encourage green technology in the property sector, building owners obtaining Green Building Index (GBI) Certificates from Oct 24 until Dec 31 will be given income tax exemption equivalent to the additional capital expenditure in obtaining such certificates.

Those purchasing buildings with GBI certificates from developers will be given stamp duty exemption on instruments of transfer of ownership.

The exemption amount is equivalent to the additional cost incurred in obtaining the GBI certificates. This exemption is given to buyers who execute the sale and purchase agreement from Oct 24 until Dec 31, 2014.

And to promote rehabilitation of abandoned housing projects, the Government will consider extending appropriate financial assistance to rehabilitate low and medium-cost houses based on the existing project list.

An allocation of RM200mil will be provided under the housing and local government ministry.

Under the Government’s initiative to provide housing facilities for the low and middle-income groups, the National Housing Department will provide 74,000 low-cost houses to be rented in 2010.

Source:  TheStar
WHEN Diane See decided to move to Ara Damansara, after her daughter Jona, 5, got a place at the neighbourhood kindergarten last year, she found the home of her dreams nearby.

It was attached, with five bedrooms – but, sadly, at RM700,000, it was beyond her price range.

See, who was renting in the interim, finally bought the property this year for just RM525,000. She completed renovations three weeks ago and intends to move in once the new patio is ready and the decorators have left.

“I was so pleased, because I couldn’t afford to pay more than I did, and I had been looking at it for sometime,” See says. Continue reading →