PETALING JAYA: Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia’s newly launched Special PR1MA End Financing (SPEF) scheme is expected to improve loan eligibility for prospective buyers and also increase home ownership among the bottom 40% and middle 40% of Malaysian households.

The new scheme which is aimed at easing end-financing, will allow PR1MA home buyers to gain access to a higher loan amount compared to conventional loans.

“The middle-income segment will now have the opportunity to own a home, a reality that may not have been an option without this programme,” PR1MA chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias said at a press conference.

PR1MA assistant vice-president for credit management Abdul Manaf Moksin expected rejection rate to be lower at 30% in 2017 following the introduction of the SPEF scheme. PR1MA expects 15,000 house units to be sold this year, a sharp rise from only over 4,000 units last year.

“It is possible for the SPEF scheme to contribute to more home sales this year as more individuals are expected to be eligible for the home loans,” said Manaf.

Under the SPEF scheme, home buyers are required to start repayment of the borrowed principal amount beginning from the sixth year. For the first five years, the home buyers are only required to pay loan interests via instalments.

Interested PR1MA home buyers can also opt-in for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Account 2 withdrawal option, allowing them to qualify for a larger loan amount. Upon the opt-in by interested home buyers, future contributions into the Account 2 will be used to complement the monthly house loan instalments.

The option comes with a “ring-fencing” rule which locks the Account 2 from withdrawals for other purposes, until the maturity of the house loan.

As of January 2017, a total of 260,188 house units have been approved by PR1MA’s board and 132,352 houses are currently under construction. About 1.38 million individuals have registered for PR1MA homes nationwide.

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