Malaysian Central Bank or Bank Negara will be setting up an RM1 billion fund to finance the first house purchase for Malaysian citizen with monthly income not exceeding RM2,300.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the fund would be provided from January 1, 2019, to purchase affordable houses priced up to RM150,000.
“The fund will be available at Ambank, CIMB Bank, Maybank, RHB Bank and Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) at a low financing rate of 3.5 per cent.
“This will reduce the monthly payment instalment for borrowers to own houses and to facilitate them obtain financing,” he said when tabling Budget 2019 at Dewan Rakyat today as cited from Bernama.
Speaking at the tabling of the budget themed “Credible Malaysia, Dynamic Economy, Prosperous Rakyat, Lim said the fund would be provided for two years or until it runs out.
Meanwhile, Lim said for first-time buyers of houses valued up to RM500,000, the government will grant stamp duty exemption of up to RM300,000 on the transfer and loan agreement for two years until December 2020.
For first-time housing loan borrowers with household income of up to RM5,000, Lim said the government would be allocating RM25 million to Cagamas Bhd to provide leasing guarantee to ensure the borrowers obtain higher financing including the deposit.
“The move is expected to save cost of between seven to 11 per cent for house buyers apart from discounts offered by the developer,” he said.
Source: Bernama