The escalating home ownership and overhang conundrum in the country has become a top agenda for the government to resolve, with various housing policies and measures being implemented to spur buying and boost the current property market.

Following the launch of the National Housing Policy 2.0 on Monday, Bank Negara launched its Affordable Homes and Rumahku portal fund yesterday to kickstart home-ownership in Malaysia, ahead of the National Home Ownership Campaign in March.

Real Estate & Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) president Datuk Soam Heng Choon said the fund will be helpful and assist first-time home-buyers.

“This is especially for properties below RM150,000. This fund will help because of the lower interest rate of 3.5%, in tandem with the home ownership campaign coming up,” he told reporters on the sidelines after the launch of the fund yesterday.