Visitors examine a model of a condo project at a House & Condo Expo.(Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

The Finance Ministry is preparing to propose another package to stimulate purchasing power in the property sector and lift the economy, offering 55 billion baht in low-interest loans.

According to Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul, the new low-interest loan package will soon be submitted to the cabinet for approval. The package comprises two parts: purchase-construction loans, and repair-decoration loans.

The purchase-construction loan scheme will offer a five-year loan of up to 3 million baht at a special interest rate for purchasing land with a house or condominium, building a house, or to purchase a land plot and build a house on it, along with related living facilities. The total loan amount set aside for this scheme is 50 billion baht.

The repair-decoration loans scheme provides a three-year loan of up to 100,000 baht with a special interest rate for home renovations or repairs, or for improving residential facilities. The total loan amount set aside for this scheme is 5 billion baht.

The ministry previously assigned Government Housing Bank to provide two soft loan programmes, amounting to 40 billion baht in total. The response was robust, with loan applications under this programme amounting to 38 billion baht.

When it comes to the government's existing real estate stimulus measures, two projects have already been implemented by the government, namely the Happy Home Housing Loan Project and the Happy Life Loan Project.

The Happy Home Housing Loan Project fully extended loans worth 20 billion baht within a three-month period. This project offers a fixed interest rate of 3% over the first five years, with loan terms of up to 40 years available.

For the Happy Life Loan Project, 18 billion baht of the 20 billion baht total available under the scheme has already been extended to consumers. The interest rate takes the form of a step-up scheme, starting at 1.95% in the first year and rising to 3.5% in the second and third years.

A source who requested anonymity said the new low-interest loan package of 55 billion baht is expected to have an interest rate similar to the previous projects, not exceeding 3%.