In the recently presented National Budget 2019, the government will set up a fund of RM1 billion to provide home mortgage at an interest rate of 3.5%, for properties priced no more than RM150,000. This fund is accessible to Malaysian with a monthly income of up to RM2,300.

Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (SHAREDA) welcomes the announcement and believes it will help young Malaysian to own their first home. In line with the government's incentive, SHAREDA encourages private developers and its members to explore the opportunity to build a more affordable range of properties priced below RM150,000.

Mr Chew Sang Hai, President of SHAREDA said in a press conference today that developers should consider building innovative studio suites for young adults, bachelors and newly-wed couples. He elaborated that these studio suites can come in the size of approximately 500sqft, located in urban areas close to job opportunities.

The idea is to promote early home ownership in the early years. As the person grows older, he/she should have better financial ability to upgrade to a larger home to start a family. When they sell the studio unit a few years later, the sales proceed should be enough to pay for the down payment of a larger family home too.

"However, there are still many challenges for the above development and we seek co-operation with our state government for the above implementation," said Mr Chew.

Challenges that the developers face includes land availability in the urban area, cost of construction, density to the land ratio as well as the availability of a loan to these group of young Malaysian. All of these aspects need to be sorted out in order for the plan to work effectively.

SHAREDA also encouraged its members to work with the state government and its agency who owns land in outskirt area to develop houses priced at RM150,000 or below.

Property Hunter reached out to Ms Lydia Ng, a 24 years old graphic designer who is from Sandakan and now works in Kota Kinabalu. With a salary of RM2,200, she currently rents a room in a 2-bedroom apartment for RM600. She is excited about the implementation of the above incentive as it now allows her to own a studio apartment with approximately the same amount of instalment as her existing rent.

However, details of the government initiative are yet to be revealed. One important consideration of a mortgage is the loan tenure, which will greatly affect the monthly instalment by the home buyer.

To learn more about The National Budget 2019, read Property Hunter's exclusive highlight here: Malaysian Budget 2019.