Relax financing requirement guidelines, urges MIEA

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Property Agent Institute (MIEA) has urged the authorities to relax some of the financing requirements for potential house buyers as many find it hard to secure bank loans.

Its president Eric Lim said many people, especially firsttime buyers, complained to its members about the difficulty in securing housing loans from banks.

“Despite Malaysia’s strong economic growth of 5.9 per cent last year and low unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent, the positive indicators have not been translated into the property sector.

“Based on our members and practitioners’ feedback, many people are interested in buying houses, especially first-time buyers and young people, but are held back by the tight financing requirements.

“In view of this, we are asking for an alternative mode of financing to help these people to buy houses,” he said after the Malaysian Property Year Convention (Marec) 2018, here, yesterday.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong officiated at the event.

This year’s Marec, which is its 32nd edition, attracted more than 300 property practitioners from all over the country.

The theme was “Meeting the Change with Innovation”.

Lee said the government expected the property market to remain stable over the next few months, supported by various property-related incentives and accommodative monetary policies.

“Residential properties will remain the main drivers with affordable houses being the top priority,” he said.