KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 ― New home buyers can look forward to discounts between five to 10 per cent on house prices in the coming months following the exemption of the Sales and Services Tax (SST)  on construction materials.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng revealed today that the discounts would only be applicable to newly launch housing units and does not including low cost housing projects, as they currently benefit under a controlled price category.

"As for existing units that have already been built, you will have to wait until this Friday for the Budget announcement,” he quipped during a press conference in Parliament.

Lim also expressed his thankfulness following a positive response from the Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda) on the federal government's request even though the deadline was just around the corner.

"To me I would wish for a 10 per cent discount and so we will give Rehda time to work towards achieving that goal,” he said without disclosing a timeframe.

He also clarified again that he did not say the SST implementation will cause prices to drop as he always stressed that should price increased but the impact would be far lesser than the Good and Services Tax.

The Bagan MP also asserted that the government would reimpose SST on developers who do not lower down their prices after being exempted.

"We want to see a reduction for new homes that are yet to be built or else we will bring back the six per cent of SST,” he said.

Previously, Lim had also asked developers to cut property prices and threatened to review the SST waiver on construction materials if developers refuse to lower property prices.

He also stressed that the government wants to see house price reduction and not additional perks such as freebies and rebates by developers.

In a statement issued by Rehda yesterday, its president Datuk Soam Heng Choon encouraged developers to lower down their prices, subjected to location and type of projects.