KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — Relaxation of financing conditions, low interest rates and deposit assistance are some of the aspects the people are counting on to enable them to own houses in line with the ‘One Family One Home’ target announced by the government yesterday.
Many of them said that with the current house prices, which are unaffordable, their hopes of owning at least a first house would remain a dream as they would not be able to cough up the large sum of deposit required by developers.
A freelancer in Kangar, Perlis, Norsharil Md Yusup, 35, said it was not easy for him to secure a housing loan from banks based on his meagre income, other commitments and living in the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
For example, he said, for a house priced at RM300,000, he needed to prepare a 10 per cent deposit or RM30,000 which is a huge sum of money for those in the B40 group.
“I suggest that banks simplify the financing process and provide an option to extend the loan period so that the monthly payment is not too high,” he told Bernama.
The National Affordable Housing Council (MPMMN) yesterday announced the ‘One Family One Home’ target in its mission to provide affordable housing in the country.
In this regard, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Bank Negara will need to review its financing model to make home ownership much easier for the B40 and M40 groups.
As of the third quarter of last year, a total of 30,290 units of completed houses nationwide worth RM19.75 billion remained unsold, with one of the reasons being house prices not matching household income.
Meanwhile, civil servant Sharul Azmeer Pateno, 32, hoped that more Civil Servants Housing (PPAM) programmes will be implemented including in Sabah, as the prices set by private developers in the state were too high compared to the size of the house.
He also proposed that the Public Sector Home Financing Board (LPPSA) lower the current fixed interest rate of four per cent to enable more civil servants to benefit from the facility provided by the government.
Amanda Chris, 40, who already owns her first house, said many of her family members’ home financing applications were rejected as they were unable to provide the required deposit.
“Also, there are many conditions imposed by the banks apart from the review of the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) records and CTOS (CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd) credit score. Sometimes, those who have never applied for a loan were unable to secure one because they don’t have a credit score,” she said.
For Siti Noraisah Jidin, 25, a graduate who is working a part-time job at a supermarket, she hoped that the strict financing conditions imposed by banks will be relaxed, such as by extending the repayment period for young people.
“I hope banks can offer more zero-deposit financing plans because, at a young age, it is not easy to raise a lot of money in a short period of time,” said Siti Noraisah who also welcomed the One Family One Home initiative.
Prior to this, the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (REHDA) said the five factors contributing to housing loans being rejected by banks were inability in terms of buyer income, low financing margins, previous financing payment history (CTOS and CCRIS reports) as well as numerous document requests from the bank.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency