SANDWICH-class families covered by a government home purchase scheme are immune to the banks' tightened mortgage terms.
They are guaranteed a 70 per cent mortgage with interest rates 0.25 per cent less than the market rate.
The Government set aside $2 billion in loans to help 3,000 sandwich-class families - those earning between $20,001 and $40,000-a-month - buy flats over the next three years.
One thousand families will benefit from the first year of the scheme, which is managed by the Housing Society.
According to agreements signed with the society, the seven participating banks have agreed to fix the mortgage terms at 70 per cent of the flat price and offer a preferential interest rate of eight per cent. The normal mortgage interest rate is 8.25 per cent.
The families can also get loans of up to 20 per cent of the flat's purchase price or the valuation price, whichever is higher, up to a maximum of $500,000.
