Property developers urge govt. to move up fee reduction, delay LTV
Referring to the Cabinet’s approval of the measure to cut transaction and mortgage fees for those purchasing a property worth no more than Bt3 million earlier this month effective from January 1 to December 24, 2020, Tritecha Tangmatitham, managing director of Supalai, said that the measure will be beneficial only if it came into force immediately rather than next year.
“Delaying this measure to next year will only hurt the current market, as buyers will put off buying or transferring their properties until the new fee rates come into effect,” he said. “This will mean discouraging results for the property market in final quarter and render many promotional campaigns planned for year-end by property developers pointless.
“Although it is a good measure, it will take too long to yield any results and fails to take account of the fact that it usually takes banks at least 30 days to approve a loan,” he added.
Tritecha noted that up to 50 per cent of Supalai’s finished condos are eligible for the new transfer and mortgage fees, which will be reduced to 0.01 per cent from the original 1 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.
Prasert Taedullayasatit, chief executive officer at Pruksa Real Estate, expressed the view that the lowering of transfer and mortgage fees will not benefit property developers as long as the Lone to Value (LTV) measure announced by Bank of Thailand is still in place and prevents many customers from obtaining a loan.
“To maximize the boosting of property market, the LTV measures should be delayed while the lowering of transfer and mortgage fees must be moved up,” he said. “This way, home buyers can more easily obtain loans easier and enjoy cheaper fees while the market continues to rise towards next year. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
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