Country Heights Hopes Selangor, Negeri Sembilan Relook Into New Housing Ruling

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) -- Property developer Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB) is appealing to the state governments of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan to re-look into the new the housing quota for Bumiputeras and foreigners.

Group Chief Executive Officer Dianna Lee said the 10 per cent housing quota for foreigners in Selangor which took effect in September 2014 and the increment from 30 per cent to 50 per cent for Bumiputera house buyers in Negeri Sembilan in early June 2015, are the main challenges as most of its property development is in both states.

"With negative sentiment in the market where people are more cautious about the money they are spending and tightening of bank loans, this sudden ruling has caught us by surprise as we also rely on foreign buyers.

"We are concerned with the changes in the ruling as the property market is already tightening, so moving forward it is going to be difficult for us this year," Lee told reporters after the company's annual general meeting (AGM) here today.

Other ruling changes in Selangor include a minimum selling price of RM2 million compared with RM500,000 for foreigners, who are also not allowed to purchase non-strata/landed residential properties.

For Negeri Sembilan, the changes include a stipulation that 15 per cent of houses must be RM80,000 and below, 15 per cent must be RM250,000 and below, and 20 per cent must be priced below RM300,000.

On a different note, Lee said the company has also proposed a new rail alignment for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 2 to MRT Corp.

"Although they may have other studies on the alignment locations, being the first developer of Serdang/Seri Kembangan, we know the area better and feel that the stations should slightly be aligned from Serdang Raya north to Mines north and Serdang Raya south to Mines south, where it would have more ridership based on our study," she said.

The final alignment for the MRT Line 2 is targeted for approval in August.

The RM23 billion MRT Line 2, spanning Sungai Buloh to Serdang to Putrajaya, is expected to have about 40 stations.

-- BERNAMA