Finance Ministry eyes new packages to support developers, home buyers
Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana said on Friday (October 18) that his ministry is considering issuing new measures to support home buyers who have been adversely affected by the central bank’s loan-to-value (LTV) regulation imposed in April this year.
However, he did not elaborate on the kind of measures to be offered.
An informed source from the Finance Ministry said the ministry plans to seek Cabinet approval for new measures to support people who want to purchase homes worth no more than Bt3 million.
The ministry will propose a 2-per-cent reduction on transaction fees and 1-per-cent cut on mortgage fees, so they only account for 0.01 per cent each of the house’s value. For instance, home buyers currently pay about Bt30,000 in fees if they purchase a house worth Bt1 million. But if the fees are cut, they will only be paying Bt200 in fees.
The reduced fees will be in place for six months as the ministry aims to cut down on the stock of unsold new homes, which in turn will also benefit housing developers, the source said.
The source added that this new measure will be beneficial for the middle-income group after the government previously helped the low-income group purchase homes.
The government recently introduced many measures to help boost the local economy amid the global and domestic slowdown.
