Budget 2019: Bank Negara's measures for affordable homes

Malaysia's central bank is likely to cut its benchmark rate to 3% at a policy review on Tuesday to cope with a slowdown in growth, a slim majority of analysts in a Reuters poll said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) would like to announce the establishment of a RM1 billion Fund for Affordable Homes (the Fund) to help home buyers from the lower income group nationwide to finance the purchase of their first homes.

The Fund will be available for two years from 2 January 2019 or until the RM1 billion fund is fully utilised.

Under this Fund, eligible home buyers could obtain financing (conventional or Islamic) at a concessionary rate at participating financial institutions.

The criteria and features of BNM’s Fund for Affordable Homes are:

• Available to Malaysian citizens with maximum monthly household income of RM2,300;
• The property price is up to RM150,000;
• The financing rate is up to 3.5% per annum; and
• The participating financial institutions are AmBank, Bank Simpanan Nasional, CIMB Bank, Maybank and RHB Bank.

Owning a home is a major investment or commitment for many people. It is therefore important for prospective home buyers to assess their ability to meet the financial commitments associated with owning a home, including mortgage repayments and other related expenses.

To assist first-time home buyers in this, an easy and convenient online financial education module will be provided by Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) for home buyers that apply for financing under the Fund.

Members of the public may contact the participating financial institutions for further information.

Other measures to assist low income households, first-time home buyers 

The launch of the Fund will be complemented with a broader range of measures to assist home buyers with monthly income of RM5,000 and below, to purchase their first home priced up to RM300,000. 

These measures which apply to eligible home financing from all financial institutions are aimed at lowering the ancillary costs of home ownership for qualified borrowers and include stamp duty exemption, affordable rates for mortgage protection cover and waivers on the legal fees on sales and purchase and financing agreements.