- ‘GuruDeals’ brings over RM1 million in total savings to homebuyers on select new projects across Malaysia
- ‘PropertyGuru Home Affordability Tool’ helps Malaysians quickly understand the price range of homes they can afford and reduces home loan rejections
KUALA LUMPUR, 25 April 2018: PropertyGuru Malaysia (“PropertyGuru” or the “Company”), Malaysia’s leading property portal, today launched two industry-first initiatives – ‘GuruDeals’ and ‘PropertyGuru Home Affordability Tool’ – to help homebuyers in Malaysia overcome their two biggest pain points when buying a home. While GuruDeals directly addresses the home affordability issue by offering over RM1 million worth of total savings on new properties – thereby enabling more Malaysians to get on the property ladder, the PropertyGuru Home Affordability Tool addresses the high loan rejections in the country by giving property seekers almost instant information and insights on the home loan amount they can secure.
Building on the Company’s brand refresh earlier this month, which invited all to ‘Look Forward To Home’, these two initiatives bring to life PropertyGuru’s role as a trusted advisor to property seekers and signals the advent of a new era of customer experience in the Malaysian property sector.
PropertyGuru Malaysia’s Country Manager, Sheldon Fernandez, said, “Millions in Malaysia have searched and found their homes with us. That’s both a privilege and a responsibility. With the launch of GuruDeals and PropertyGuru Home Affordability Tool today, we’re truly empowering Malaysians to look forward to home and realise their longstanding aspiration of finding and owning their own home.”
Sheldon continued, “As the leading and most independent property portal in Malaysia, we are well-positioned to work with top developers to provide compelling, exclusive offers to homebuyers. GuruDeals aims to highlight smart property buys at attractive entry points for Malaysians and is designed to help first-time homebuyers get their foot on the property ladder and for upgraders to move up the ladder.”
An industry first, GuruDeals enables homebuyers to pick up Malaysia’s biggest property offers – exclusively online at PropertyGuru.com.my. Through a strategic tie-up with leading property developers, PropertyGuru brings together a wide range of residential projects across the country and provides over RM1 million worth of total savings to prospective buyers. Boasting properties with selling prices up to RM82,000 lower than their initial launch price, GuruDeals features up to 12% off selected new property launches, free legal and stamping fees, furnishing vouchers plus other online exclusive offers. This is the first time a property portal in Malaysia is spearheading such an initiative, bringing together leading property developers and prospective homebuyers – all on the same platform.
PropertyGuru’s Chief Marketing Officer, Bjorn Sprengers, shared, “GuruDeals is yet another effort by PropertyGuru to make the dream of owning a home a reality. Last year, we gave away RM50,000 to a lucky winner, helping the person cover his upfront payment for a home purchase. This year, we wish to help more people. GuruDeals offers tremendous savings to homebuyers, including assistance with offsetting upfront costs. Property seekers can choose from a good mix of properties, catering to various budgets, across multiple locations across Malaysia.”
To view the selection of new homes on offer, prospective buyers can visit the GuruDeals microsite at www.PropertyGuru.com.my/GuruDeals. These online offers are exclusively available at PropertyGuru.com.my and are valid from now until 31st May 2018.
The Launch of ‘PropertyGuru Home Affordability Tool’
In conjunction with GuruDeals, PropertyGuru is also launching the Home Affordability Tool, which helps Malaysians determine their creditworthiness and home loan eligibility. The PropertyGuru Home Affordability Tool is the first-ever online loan eligibility solution in Malaysia and is developed in collaboration with MHub – a real estate fintech platform that helps qualified buyers to get their homes – and powered by CTOS – Malaysia’s leading credit reporting agency.
This free online tool enables homebuyers to get pre-qualified – quickly and safely. Leveraging consumer credit insights and comprehensive data from CTOS and MHub’s proprietary algorithm, the PropertyGuru Home Affordability Tool requires prospective buyers to key in their personal details to almost immediately retrieve their estimated eligible loan amount, Debt Service Ratio (DSR) and personalised advice on how to improve their DSR.
Vivek Kumar, Director of Consumer Products at PropertyGuru, shared, “In Malaysia, personal debt ratios are extremely high and it’s hard for many Malaysians to get credit to buy homes. At last check, home loan rejection rate was at an all-time high – at approximately 60%. With PropertyGuru Home Affordability Tool, we’re equipping Malaysians to estimate the maximum housing loan amount based on their annual income and ability to service the loan, evaluate their DSR, and know the price range of homes they can afford to buy – all under five minutes and free of charge!”
Equipped with this knowledge, buyers are better equipped to not just avoid home loan rejection but also better strategize their budget for buying a home.
“PropertyGuru has always been at the forefront of providing property intelligence and democratising the property purchase process. We believe that every homebuyer should have access to the most current property information and insights to make confident property decisions, and the PropertyGuru Home Affordability Tool is another undertaking by us to realise this mission,” added Sheldon.
The Home Affordability Tool is available at www.propertyguru.com.my/mortgage/home-affordability-tool.