The National Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) initiated by the government is an effort to encourage homeownership and to give a boost to the property market. Under this initiative, Property Hunter and Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (SHAREDA) have agreed to collaborate and organize the Home Ownership Campaign Expo in Sabah from 1-3 March at Dewan Foo Chow. The event will coincide with a similarly branded expo in Kuala Lumpur on the same dates.

There has been plenty of hype around the HOC in the industry but what are the benefits to you, the homebuyers and property investors? First of all, it is best to keep in mind that this campaign only applies to residential properties and not commercial units. It is also open to all property buyers and not just first-time home buyers.

With that out of the way, here are some key points that you should take in as consideration and why you should be on the lookout for properties within the campaign timeframe which runs from 1 January to 30 June, ending on 1 July 2019:

1. Property types eligible - Completed residential projects, under construction residential projects, build-to-sell residential properties. All projects must have obtained APDL/Developer license. Developers must also be a registered member of SHAREDA, REHDA or SHEDA.

2. Stamp duty exemption - 100% stamp duty exemption on the instrument of transfer for residential units valued at RM300,001 to RM1 mil. For units ranging from RM1,000,001 to RM2,500,000, buyers will only pay 3% stamp duty instead of the 4% stamp duty that will come into effect on 1 July 2019.

3. Developer discount - Developers are required to offer 10% discount on properties to be part of the HOC. The Ministry of Finance Malaysia has set a minimum 10% discount for developers to offer, which means additional discounts might be on the table at the discretion of the developers.

4. Price threshold - Properties ranging from RM300,000 and below will fall into another category, under affordable properties and is separate from this campaign. Properties above RM2.5 mil is not eligible.

5. Secondary properties - Subsale properties will not be eligible for stamp duty exemptions.

6. New loan schemes - Banks like Maybank have launched special loan packages in line with HOC. Buyers will find that these deals might be more tailored to their financial mileage and has better terms compared to conventional home loans.

At a briefing on the HOC at the SHAREDA secretariat, association President Mr Chew Sang Hai said that this is a rare occasion as the previous time the government launched such a campaign was almost 20 years back. The point is that these campaigns don't come around often so homebuyers should take advantage and really consider investing in property before the 1 July end date.

Be sure to visit Home Ownership Campaign Expo, 1-3 March at Dewan Foo Chow to learn more about the HOC and discover the deals that will be on offer by the developers.

Editor's note: A previous version of this article reported that the RPGT, in accordance to Budget 2019, will only come into effect on 1 July 2019. This information was wrongly conveyed. The RPGT came into effect on 1 January 2019 and is only exempt to Malaysian citizens who dispose of their properties at a consideration price of RM200,000 and below.