On October 23, 2019, Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana announced that the Cabinet approved two measures to stimulate the real estate economy. The first measure aims to alleviate the burden on homebuyers by reducing the property transfer registration fee from 2% to 0.01% and the mortgage registration fee from 1% to 0.01% for residential properties, including land with buildings or condominiums priced at no more than 3 million baht per unit. These transfers and mortgages must be registered by December 24, 2020. The second measure involves a special housing loan program from the Government Housing Bank (GHB) with a fixed interest rate of 2.5% for three years, with a total loan limit of 50 billion baht.

          “The government expects to lose 2.6 billion baht in revenue from the reduced transfer and mortgage fees. Additionally, the government will subsidize 1.2 billion baht in interest for the GHB loans, which is considered worthwhile compared to the benefits of stimulating the real estate sector and its positive impact on related businesses such as construction and transportation. We hope that GHB's leadership in lowering loan interest rates will encourage other commercial banks to follow suit,” said Minister Uttama.

          Currently, there are approximately 34,731 completed residential units priced at no more than 3 million baht as of October 2019, accounting for 57% of all completed housing. It is expected that there will be an additional 145,269 completed residential units in 2020, resulting in a total of over 180,000 units available for the target population.

          The target group for the real estate measures will focus on low to middle-income earners, new workers starting their careers, and elderly individuals with purchasing power, enabling them to buy residential properties such as single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses, commercial buildings (for residential use), and condominiums. However, these must be newly completed properties that have never been owned by anyone else and priced at no more than 3 million baht per unit.

          Chatchai Sirilai, Managing Director of the Government Housing Bank, stated that GHB has prepared a total budget of 50 billion baht for the real estate economic stimulus measures, with a fixed interest rate of 2.50% for the first three years, 4.625% for the fourth and fifth years, and MRR minus 0.75-1.00% for the sixth year and throughout the loan term. The loans must be for purchasing land with buildings or condominiums from real estate developers nationwide or new homes priced at no more than 3 million baht, and it is not necessary to be a first-time homebuyer; however, second-hand home buyers or those refinancing are not eligible.

          “This project offers the lowest interest rate in the market and helps reduce housing costs during the first three years. For example, if borrowing 1 million baht, the monthly payment for the first three years will start at only 3,300 baht, allowing borrowers to save up to 80,400 baht over three years. Compared to regular loan interest rates during the first five years, borrowers can save up to 123,600 baht. Interested individuals can apply for loans and complete legal transactions from October 24, 2019, to December 24, 2020,” Mr. Chatchai said.

 

Thank you for the information from www.thaipost.net