Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysian Real Estateand Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) said it does not expect the endingof the six-month moratorium on loan repayments on September 30 to worsen thecountry’s residential property overhang.
Last week, the National Property Information Centre notedthat the residential property overhang in the first half of 2020 worsened tonearly 32,000 units valued at 20 billion RM (4.8 billion USD), increasing 3.3percent from the end of last year.
However, Rehda president Soam Heng Choon said banks had beenproactive in finding ways to ensure that their customers did not default ontheir loans.
According to him, an increase in residential propertyoverhang will not happen as banks are extending the moratorium (on acase-to-case basis) or restructuring loans.
He also noted banks are in a better position to help theircustomers compared with the 1998 Asian financial crisis when the interest ratewas at 15, adding that the current interest rate is 3 percent.
The record low interest rates also make monthly repaymentsaffordable even for those affected by pay cuts, he said.
He also praised the Malaysian government for its initiativesaimed at boosting the property sector under the Penjana economic recovery planby focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)./.
VNA