$4.5 billion locked in real estate market
$4.5 billion locked in real estate market
Despite standing at a record level of $4.5 billion at the end of 2013, unsold real estate inventory has fallen 26.5 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung said that the real estate market had seen positive signs in liquidity, especially in the last months of 2013, and that the majority of the decreased inventory was from small and medium-d apartments.
Unsold apartments nationwide are estimated to stand at 20,000 units worth VND29 trillion ($1.38 billion).
Hanoi’s real estate stocks are estimated at 6,580 apartments and low-rise buildings worth VND12.9 trillion ($614 million) with the figures for both apartments and low-rise housing slightly higher at about VND17.4 trillion ($828 million) in Ho Chi Minh City.
The present supply is a vast decrease from September 2013, when inventories were VND101 trillion (over $4.85 billion) for the whole market.
Ministry of Construction (MoC) figures show that the most popular form of housing on the market is properties under 70 square metres, priced at less than VND15 million per square metre. No excess inventory was reported in this segment.
“The figures show that even though the market remains troubled, positive signs were seen in the last months of 2013, especially for projects in the final stages,” Dung said.
He added that the number of transactions in the third and fourth quarters doubled compared to the first and the second, particularly for small, low cost apartments.
Going along with increased liquidity, the majority of projects have cut prices from 10 to 30 per cent, while some lowered prices by 50 per cent, almost equivalent with 2006 prices. “This is a very good opportunity for customers who are in real need of accommodation and are eligible for the government’s VND30 trillion ($1.4 billion) support package,” he added.
According to the MoC, there are more than 4,000 housing and new urban area development projects nationwide. Of those, 3,200 are on-going, 455 are in need of downscaling, and the other 300 have been temporarily stopped.
The MoC said that policies designed to aid the real estate market and the implementation of the national housing development strategy will be maintained in 2014.
Regarding the disbursement of the VND30 trillion ($1.4 billion) package for social housing, by the end of 2013, the State Bank had committed to giving loans totalling VND1.759 trillion to 13 businesses and 1,764 individuals.
Five banks are now involved in the disbursement of the aid package: Vietcombank, Vietinbank, BIDV, Agribank and MHB.
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