Rehda lauds government and private sector initiatives to help B40 own a home

SEMENYIH (Feb 20): The FundMyHome+DepositKu scheme launched today is an encouraging move to assist low income earners to own a home.

Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) Malaysia President Datuk Soam Heng Choon sees the FundMyHome+DepositKu scheme as an alternative loan for lower income first time homebuyers.

“Government intervention is needed for low-wage earners to own a home. This scheme provides an additional option for buyers having problems in getting the down payment for a home,” he told EdgeProp.my after the launch of FundMyHome+DepositKu by Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin today.

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In today’s launch, over 20 buyers received the mock keys from EdgeProp Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Tong Kooi Ong and the minister.

With FundMyHome+DepositKu, eligible homebuyers may now apply for a loan of up to RM30,000 from the government to help with the 20% payment required by FundMyHome. 

However, Soam noted that there are still some areas that need more clarity such as the size, in order to understand the impact on the property market.

He said in the current challenging conditions where most buyers have difficulties in securing a mortgage loan, it’s important for the government to step in to offer help to those who need it.

Meanwhile, Chur Associates founder and managing partner Chris Tan said that the introduction of the scheme is a good start for the government to tackle some of the housing and community issues in the country.

"While I'm still not clear about the details of the scheme, I think it is a good start to address the issues faced by the B40 group and restore the integration of community. Given that it is the first [such] initiative by the government, I think it is quite encouraging," he said.

However, he noted that for the FundMyHome +Skim DepositKu to be implemented at a larger scale, there must be transparency and a clear execution of the scheme to ensure no one gets left behind.