MyDeposit scheme to help the middle income bracket - Najib

He said the scheme was implemented to help the middle 40 per cent income bracket (M40) with household incomes of between RM3,000 and RM10,000.

"(This scheme involves) a contribution of 10 per cent of the sales price or a maximum of RM30,000, whichever is lower, to first-time house buyers to help them buy a house costing less than RM500,000," he said after the National Housing Council's (NHC) meeting here, Wednesday.

The prime minister said the applicants could make their applications to the scheme online from Thursday through the website of the National Housing Department, Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said MyDeposit was open to all types of houses from all registered developers except Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia.

The scheme, he said was not limited to new house purchases but also secondary house purchases.

At the same event, Najib also announced the implementation of the sale of houses costing up to RM300,000 to first-time house buyers, as announced in the 2016 Budget Recalibration, this month.

In order to encourage private developers to build houses costing below RM300,000, Najib said the ministry offered several incentives to developers, including the retention of deposit of RM200,000 from three per cent of the estimated cost at present.

For mixed development, the prime minister said the deposit was based on the remaining construction of houses priced more than RM300,000.

On the implementation of one million affordable houses by 2018, Najib said until Dec 31, 2015, a total of 183,755 units were completed, 214,011 units were under construction and 309,571 units at various stages of planning.