MyDeposit a welcome e ort, says developer

PETALING JAYA: The First Home Deposit Funding Scheme (MyDeposit) is a welcome effort for first-time house buyers to have a roof over their heads.

Mah Sing Group Bhd group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum said this would directly benefit the company as 70% of its purchasers were first time buyers aged below 40.

“Half our potential buyers are eligible to apply for the MyDeposit scheme as 50% of our residential launches this year are priced below RM500,000,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Leong added that most developers were scaling back on launches because buyers faced difficulty in coming up with the differential sum and obtaining end financing.

This will further exacerbate the supplydemand gap, which is growing every year.

“The supply of new houses needs to increase by about 200,000 annually from 2016 to 2020 to match the estimated growth in households.

“All stakeholders including developers, bankers and the Government should work together to improve this situation,” he said.

“Why not extend the loan tenure for firsttime home buyers instead of a blanket approval of a maximum 30 years for all borrowers? Perhaps the banks could also consider extending 100% loan financing for first-time home buyers,” he added.

Leong said if buyers were able to obtain loans, developers would be able to increase the supply as development was all about cash flow.

“The Government has taken positive steps like MyDeposit, providing 50% stamp duty exemption on instruments of transfer and loan agreements for first time buyers,” he added.

The MyDeposit scheme is aimed at helping the lower income group with a household income of RM10,000 and below.

The scheme can be applied online through the National Housing Department website.