Get the latest news from various dailies and stay up to date with the real estate sector of Bangladesh.
“BRAC Bank to provide loan facilities to bti’s customers”
Source: Dhaka Tribune
Date: 1 November 2017
The article features a signing ceremony between bti, a leading real estate developer company in Bangladesh and BRAC Bank, one of the largest retail banks of the country. The signing ceremony was held in the head office of bti in the capital city. The campaign offers retail loan facilities, such as home loans, auto loans, personal loans and credit card support to customers of the real estate developer Building Technology and Ideas Limited.
Chief Operating Officer of bti, HM Tarikul Kamrul and Head of Retail Banking of BRAC Bank Limited, Nazmur Rahim signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. BRAC Bank’s Head of Retail Sales Kyser Hamid, Head of ADC Imtiaz Ahmed, Managing Director F R Khan and Executive Director (Sales) Noor E Alam Siddike from bti were present at the signing ceremony among others.
“Tax relief in Real Estate will increase revenue”
Source: Sangbadprotidin24
Date: 11 November 2017
The article features a joint seminar of NBR and REHAB where realtors stated that tax relief in real estate sector will significantly increase the national revenue. In light of this, REHAB members urged the government to give special consideration to the real estate sector. REHAB President Alamgir Shamsul Alamin and Senior Vice President Nurunnobi Shaon Chowdhury spoke on behalf of the organization. Alamgir Shamsul Alamin stated that every year around 15000-17000 apartments are handed over to their owners. However, due to high registration fee, apartment owners show reluctance to register their apartments and for this reason Government is losing a significant amount of revenue. He further stated it is difficult to get the 15% tax on Landowner’s signing money. If the tax on signing money, which is a part of apartment selling price, is reduced to 7.5% then revenue will surely increase. He also said currently paid up capital of real estate members is Tk 10-12 lac but realtors have decided the paid up capital to be increased to Tk 1 crore.
Senior Vice President of REHAB, Nurunnobi commented on the dire state of real estate sector of Bangladesh since 2010 due to lack of government support. He stated that despite being a large employment sector, many developer companies are seen to let go of employees within the last 4-5 years. Due to lack of fund, many ongoing projects are also being halted. He recommended in order to revive the sector apart from reducing registration fee and initiating secondary market, a fund of Tk 20 crore at 5% interest rate with a tenure of 30 years has to be established for refinancing. NBR member Barrister Jahangir Hossain stated that RAJUK and other concerned housing authorities are collectively working to bring down the registration fee which he hopes will revive the real estate sector and increase revenue.
“Up to Tk 1 crore loan for NRBs for buying and building homes”
Source: Greenbd24
Date: 11 November 2017
The article features an offer by Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) where NRBs can avail up to TK 1 crore as loan amount for buying flats and building homes in Bangladesh. This offer is included in its product “Probashi Bondhu” which has been developed keeping in mind Bangladeshis who live abroad. Currently Bangladeshis residing in US, UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, Malaysia and Middle Eastern countries can avail this loan. BHFC has categorized the product into three segments: single loan for constructing homes, group loan and loan for buying flats. The interest on loan amount for buying flat is slightly higher than for constructing homes and the loan tenure can be 5-25 years. However, if the loan tenure is longer, then the loan amount will be less.
Sources from BHBFC stated that for a loan with 15 year tenure, the monthly installment will be Tk 1075 for every 1 lac taka at 10% interest rate and for an interest rate of 9% and 8.5% the monthly installments will be Tk 1014 and TK 984.90 respectively.
“Sheltech Apartment Fair to start from Thursday”
Source: Prothom Alo
Date: 14 November 2017
The article features an apartment fair organized by Sheltech titled, “Sheltech Winter Festival 2017” which started from 16 November and concluded on 26 November. The fair, which was held in the capital city, featured around 250 flats in Dhaka in 15 projects and 40 commercial spaces in Dhaka. The venue for the fair was the head office of Sheltech in Panthapath. A special offer of up to TK 5 lac discount was also included in the fair to facilitate property buying for prospective home buyers.
“Sluggish real estate sector”
Source: Manabzamin
Date: 18 November 2017
The article highlights the factors responsible for slow real estate sector of Bangladesh. According to the article some of the factors include: lack of appropriate policy, high tax imposition, high land price as well as skyrocketing price of construction materials. REHAB members in a recent meeting urged the government to reduce registration fee which is the highest among SAARC countries at 15%. The registration expense comprises of 4% gain tax, 3% stamp duty, 2% registration fee, 2% government tax and 1.5%-4% VAT. Realtors suggested reducing the exorbitant registration cost to 6% to facilitate apartment buying and revive the real estate sector. Some recommendations to alleviate the stagnant real estate sector cited in the article include reduction in registration fee and gain tax, establishment of secondary market and so on. REHAB sources stated that apart from the real estate sector, related industries such as cement, steel, rod industries are also being affected negatively as despite having the large capacity, the demand for their products is low as a result of sluggish real estate market.
“Banks are searching for home loan customers”
Source: Silkcitynews
Date: 25 November 2017
The article highlights the focus of banks and financial institutions on customers seeking a home loan. This is due to the reliability of real estate customers who pay back loan on time. Bangladesh Bank statistics show that apart from having low interest rate, this sector also has a low loan default. As a result, bank and financial institutions think of investment in this sector as a secured investment. Chairman of Association of Bankers Bangladesh and Managing Director of Mutual Trust Bank, Anis A Khan commented that currently bank investment in real estate sector is the safest. Reputed banks are also offering a single digit interest rate so that home seekers can fulfill their dream of owning a home instead of paying rent year after year.
Another research from Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) revealed that in 2006, loan default rate was at 5.45% and at that time home loan default was at 1.57%. In 2016, total loan default increased to 8.16% but home loan default stood at only 3%. It has been seen over the past three years that although house rent has increased, comparatively apartment price has remained stable. Moreover, home loan interest rate has also decreased to single digit. Since the home loan application has been made easier, and combined with increased income of people, amount of home loan disbursed has increased over the years. Reputed banks like Standard Chartered Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, IFIC, BRAC Bank, etc are giving up to 50% loan for buying flats. There are also special facilities for NRBs in buying apartments, such as they can avail 75% of total apartment value as loan. Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank S.K Sur Chowdhury stated that the bank is currently working on a policy analyzing the various aspects of home loan so that home seekers can easily get the home loan. He also stated that all the banks have to collectively work to make the home loan process easier for apartment buyers.
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