Property market remains mired
Property market remains mired
The property market inventory is not very high, according to a recent report by the Ministry of Construction to Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai.
The HCM City Department of Construction said in the first half 1,877 apartments out of the nearly 14,500 on the market by the end of last year were sold, and the total inventory remaining is valued at VND22 trillion (US$1.04 billion).
But many experts disagree with the figures, saying if the inventory levels are indeed so low, it will not have a big impact on the property market.
The stagnant market is causing anxiety among prospective buyers, who are, in many instances, faced with the threat of losing their money.
Customers of Petrolandmark project in District 2, for instance, have been locked in a dispute with the developer over the inordinate delay in handing over their apartments. My Phu Tenement by Petroland in District 7 faces the same situation.
In late 2010 customers signed contracts to buy apartments at My Phu and paid 70 per cent of the cost on schedule, with the remaining 30 per cent to be paid on delivery.
Petroland promised to hand over the apartments by the end of September 2012. But by June 2013 even the facade was not completed.
Many developers, to mitigate what is a critical situation, have converted their projects from commercial to "social" housing (for beneficiaries of social welfare schemes).
The Department of Construction has received 10 applications for such conversions but approved only two, including a tenement to be turned into a hospital.
vietnamnews
