Reports from real estate research companies all indicate that the demand for buying houses and land has increased sharply since before the Lunar New Year.
Increased demand
Mr. Phan Sang, a real estate broker in Lam Dong province , said that before Tet (Lunar New Year), several clients had contacted him asking for help finding garden land with a beautiful view, an area of 1,000-2,000 m2, with a land title deed that partially recognizes it as residential land, at a reasonable price of around 1.5-1.8 billion VND. He found a 1,300 m2 plot of land with 100 m2 of residential land, priced at 1.65 billion VND in Lam Ha district, Lam Dong province. The client was very satisfied and was preparing to finalize the deposit.
According to Mr. Sang, the demand for garden land and residential land in the province has increased, but it remains at the exploratory stage, with very few transactions taking place. They are mainly interested in properties that have seen significant price reductions of 20%-30% compared to last year.
In Ho Chi Minh City, many people have also started "hunting" for and securing affordable plots of land for investment or building houses. Mr. Truong Chung - a real estate broker in Thu Duc City, District 12, Hoc Mon District and Cu Chi District - said that in the context of real estate fluctuations, land prices have not decreased significantly and transactions have now started to pick up again.
"For example, a plot of land in Hiep Binh Phuoc ward, Thu Duc City, with an area of 80 m2 (4 m wide, 20 m long), accessible by car, was recently reserved for 4.6 billion VND. However, only in Thu Duc City, and specifically in Phu Huu, Tang Nhon Phu A, and Tang Nhon Phu B wards, are land plots accessible by car priced between 3-4 billion VND (60-70 m2) attracting significant interest; transactions are not occurring in every area," Mr. Chung stated.
Mr. Tran Khanh Quang, a personal real estate expert, said that typically after an economic cycle, recovery begins with the stock market, followed by real estate. Therefore, when the stock market is rising sharply and many investors are taking profits, real estate becomes a safe haven for capital. Among these, land plots are the most attractive segment, followed by other segments.
Real estate agents gather clients at a cafe on Song Hành Street, Ho Chi Minh City, to "lure" them into viewing land in Dong Nai. Photo: PHAM DINH
Repeating the same old trick.
Due to the recent resurgence in demand for real estate investment and savings, deceptive real estate practices such as "selling something different from what's advertised" and "luring people into buying land plots in the provinces" have become more prevalent.
Last week, a reporter noticed an advertisement on a real estate website listing a bank-foreclosed apartment in District 4 at a surprisingly low price. Upon contacting the advertiser, the person provided a lot of attractive information about the project, the apartment, and the sales policies. This person then repeatedly messaged and called, inviting us to an address on Song Hành Street, Thu Duc City, to check the apartment's legal status and complete the procedures.
However, upon arrival, we and many others found it to be just a coffee shop. Some people, claiming to be real estate agents, invited customers to view the project at a different location, contrary to the initial advertisements. Those who agreed were then taken by car to Trang Bom, Dong Nai, to view and purchase land in the project. Those who were skeptical or refused were rescheduled to another day to review the apartment's legal documents.
Previously, posing as potential land buyers, we found an advertisement on Zalo for a land plot project priced at just over 2 billion VND per plot, located on Tran Quoc Thao Street (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City). When we contacted them, we were invited to a conference room within the premises of Hoa Binh Tourism Company (Vo Van Tan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) to hear about the project.
Here, many staff members surrounded us and other customers, introducing a project called Tran Quoc Thao Residential Area with 32 plots, including 8 street-facing plots priced at 7-9 billion VND; while inner-area plots were priced from 2.7 billion VND upwards. The investor was Thien Nam Housing Joint Stock Company. However, when we expressed our desire to view the land, the staff said that this project was a commercial and service housing project, with only 11 years left on the lease.
Upon hearing this, we were about to back out when the staff member immediately introduced us to another project along National Highway 13, very close to the Thu Duc wholesale market, called Smart City, developed by Dai Hung Vuong Company. The project has 700 plots, each ranging from 70-120 m2, and already has complete infrastructure and amenities. The staff member told us and several other customers to get in the car to go see the project soon.
Seeing our lack of interest, the staff continued to introduce a special promotion: a deposit of 100 million VND for land purchase would entitle the company to a few taels of gold as a gift. An elderly female customer, upon hearing this, immediately showed interest and wanted to go see the property for investment purposes.
When we refused, both the staff member and the woman left, no longer as friendly as before.
We need to be extremely vigilant.
Speaking with us, lawyer Tran Dinh Dung from the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association said that scams involving luring people to buy land plots in provinces or "ghost" projects were very common before the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Alibaba case. Last year, this situation recurred, and several cases were dealt with severely by the Dong Nai Provincial Police, so after that, few businesses dared to bring customers to Dong Nai.
Now that the real estate market is showing positive signs, the aforementioned situation is recurring more frequently. Those looking to buy real estate need to be extremely cautious and should not be tempted by cheap land, promotions, or gifts of gold or money, leading them to sign contracts or transfer deposit payments. If such cases occur, they should report it to the police.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/chieu-tro-lua-ga-mua-dat-nen-lai-no-ro-196240320203920453.htm
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