On November 29, 2019, Mr. Laworn Sangsnit, Director of the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) and spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, announced that on November 26, 2019, the Cabinet approved the "Good Homes with Down Payment" project, which provides a down payment support of 50,000 Baht for homebuyers. Interested individuals can register for the program through the website www.goodhomeswithdownpayment.com starting from December 11, 2019, at 8:00 AM until March 31, 2020. They must also obtain mortgage approval from financial institutions between November 27, 2019, and March 31, 2020, with each person eligible for one right (one ID card per right), limited to 100,000 participants.

           To qualify for the program, participants must be registered in the Department of Provincial Administration's database, be within the tax base of the Revenue Department, have a monthly income not exceeding 100,000 Baht or 1.2 million Baht per year, and have a bank account registered with PromptPay linked to their ID card. Upon registration, they will receive confirmation within three days regarding their eligibility for the down payment. According to the Revenue Department, there are 11 million people in the tax system, with 10 million earning less than 1.2 million Baht per year.

           After that, eligible participants must purchase and transfer a new home from the current 270,000 units available, with no restrictions on whether it is their first home or the price of the house, but it must be a completed house or condominium within the project. Once the loan and transfer agreements with the financial institution are completed, the financial institution will re-enter the borrower's name into the system to ensure they are among the first 100,000 people eligible to receive a refund of 50,000 Baht from the Government Housing Bank (GHB) within two business days.

           "This measure will accelerate the decision-making process for purchasing and transferring homes, allowing developers to have funds to reinvest in new projects, thereby stimulating the economy. The government aims for people to have homes and to address the issue of unsold real estate, preventing new investments. We expect that all rights will be claimed within four months," Mr. Laworn stated.

           Mr. Laworn mentioned that the Ministry of Finance held a meeting with three real estate associations: the Housing Business Association, the Thai Real Estate Association, and the Thai Condominium Association, which responded positively. All three associations confirmed their readiness to support the project and are prepared to implement additional measures to assist homebuyers, such as supporting transfer fees of 0.01% and mortgage fees for properties valued at 3 million Baht and above.

           Additionally, the Ministry of Finance has held meetings with 19 financial institutions to clarify the details of the criteria, implementation guidelines, and verification processes, as well as to facilitate public registration through the website. The feedback from various commercial banks has been very positive. Furthermore, all state financial institutions, including GHB, Government Savings Bank, Islamic Bank of Thailand (I Bank), and Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), have joined the "Good Homes with Down Payment" project.

           However, state financial institutions have launched housing loan products to align with measures to reduce the burden of home purchases, as well as the second phase of the economic stimulus measures for 2019 that have already been implemented, including reducing transfer and mortgage fees to 0.01% for properties valued at no more than 3 million Baht. Through the collaboration between commercial banks, state financial institutions, and real estate associations, these economic stimulus measures are expected to achieve their goal of promoting homeownership among the public and stimulate economic growth, particularly in the real estate sector, to expand effectively in 2020.

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