Central bank insists LTV measure helps regulate property prices
Applications for property loans in the third quarter witnessed a rise, which has led to the conclusion that the Bank of Thailand’s loan to value (LTV) ratio, which came into effect in April, does not prevent people from buying their first home, BOT assistant governor of financial institutions stability Ronnadol Numnonda said on Monday (November 18).
“If anything, the LTV measure helps keep property prices in a suitable range for first-house buyers and prevents speculators from creating fake demands on the property market,” Ronnadol said.
Loan applications for buying second or third houses decreased slightly compared to the previous quarter, and the assistant governor speculated that they would remain at this rate until the year-end.
“BOT is monitoring the situation closely, but we have no plan to adjust the LTV ratio at the moment,” he said.
“Not all borrowers were rejected from obtaining loans by commercial banks because of the LTV measure, as there are many other criteria that banks used to consider granting loans, such as situational risks and a borrower’s repayment capability,” Ronnadol added.
Meanwhile, TMB Analytics Centre executive director Naris Sathapholdecha said land and property sales in the third quarter decreased 15 per cent compared to last year, while condominium registrations were down 62 per cent year-on-year, which is the lowest in eight years.
“Condominium prices are also lowering by 1 per cent instead of rising 6-8 per cent per year as in the past, especially in Bangkok and its perimeter areas,” he said. “The reasons behind this are partly because of the economic slowdown and partly due to the LTV measure that limits the amount of money borrowers can get to buy property.”
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