The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) hopes the 2017 Budget will offer a special tax scheme for the property sector, as reported in The Edge Property on Tuesday, Sept 27.

Former president Datuk Ng Seing Liong said Rehda had proposed to the government to lower the Goods and Services Tax on building and construction materials by at least by half.

"This move will lower the construction costs and ultimately, reduce the prices of new houses," Bernama reported him telling the media during a briefing on the Malaysia Property Exposition (Mapex) 2016 here today.

He also appealed to financial institutions to ease lending restrictions, especially for first-time homebuyers.

"Maybe they can come out with a tailored-repayment scheme in which borrowers can pay back their loans based on their financial capabilities.

"It means your monthly loan instalment should increase along with your earnings," Bernama reported him as saying.

Rehda's Mapex 2016 will be held from Oct 21 to 23 at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre (MVEC), 10am to 9pm.

According to Ng, Mapex 2016 will showcase more than 50 developers including Mah Sing Group Bhd, Glomac Bhd, Land & General Bhd, Aspen Vision City Sdn Bhd, Matric Concepts Holdings Bhd, S P Setia Bhd, Tropicana Corp Sdn Bhd, UEM Sunrise Bhd and Naza TTDI Group.