PETALING JAYA: The first post-budget Malaysian Property Expo (Mapex), organised by the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association of Malaysia (Rehda) in Johor from Nov 8 to 10 registered a lower turnout. There were fewer foreign attendees, compared to the previous event in May. According to Mapex organising chairman and branch deputy chairman KK Wong, there was a good crowd, although smaller than the last expo. “Now, most foreigners have adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach following the latest announcements in the recent budget, especially on the proposed price limit of RM1 million for foreign buyers,” he said. In addition to the hike in real property gains tax and the ban on the developer interest bearing scheme, Johor is set to increase the price limit and levy imposed on foreign purchasers. The levy is to be raised from the current RM10,000 to 2% of the sale price. Koh Moo Hing, branch chairman of Rehda Johor, believes that the Johor market in 2014 will continue to be strong. Demand for houses, especially landed properties, by local buyers is still good, he said. However, projects that solely target foreigners may be affected. The real impact of the proposals for the property industry in Budget 2014 remains to be seen, Koh said. According to the expo’s organisers, the total number of units put up for sale by participants at the event was 12,000 with sales value of about RM10 billion. The total number of units transacted is not available at the moment as the figures will only be compiled a month after the event. Wong: Now, most foreigners have adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach. The expo organised by Rehda Johor is the second Mapex in Johor Baru for 2013. Property developers, financiers, legal experts and property consultants are all available under one roof to assist home buyers in making decisions in their property purchases and investments. Themed “An exciting city in the making”, all 100 booths were taken up two months ahead of the event, with the participation ofmore than 34 developers. They included S P Setia Bhd, UM Land Bhd, Austin Heights Sdn Bhd, UEM Sunrise Bhd, Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd, IOI Corp Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd, IJM Corp Bhd, Leisure Farm Corp Sdn Bhd and MB Builders Sdn Bhd. This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 22, 2013.