On November 9, the seminar "Removing legal obstacles for real estate" was organized by the Lao Dong Newspaper. Many opinions from managers, experts, lawyers, associations and enterprises said that legal obstacles must be removed to help the real estate market recover more clearly.
Market through bottom, no shortage of capital
Speaking at the seminar, many experts and association leaders agreed with the assessment that the real estate market has passed the most difficult period, bottomed out in recent times and is recovering despite still facing difficulties.
Data cited by Dr. Can Van Luc, member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council, shows that the market has two relatively positive segments: residential real estate and industrial park real estate (IP), which have been least affected in recent times. Regarding residential real estate, the preliminary report of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association reflects a recovery, with each quarter being higher than the previous quarter. About 20,000 products have been launched; the number of transactions has increased gradually over the quarters, with the third quarter of 2023 alone increasing by 56% compared to the previous quarter.
Regarding industrial park real estate, the country has nearly 400 industrial parks, of which about 292 are operating and the capacity or occupancy rate is about 80% - 82%. The occupancy rate by the end of the third quarter of 2023 is about 82% in the South and 80% in the North. Industrial park rental prices still increased by 7% - 12% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year. New supply is still increasing, with great prospects from FDI projects, the demand for warehouses, factories and social housing (NƠXH) associated with industrial parks is at a high level.
Journalist - Dr. To Dinh Tuan, Editor-in-Chief of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, chaired the discussion. Photo: HOANG TRIEU
One of the difficulties of the real estate market that has been mentioned a lot before is credit capital, which has now been gradually resolved. Data released by the State Bank shows that credit for investment, real estate business and housing in the first 6 months of 2023 increased by about 4.7%, despite the context of declining income and high interest rates. FDI capital is quite positive, in the first 10 months of 2023, nearly 2 billion USD was registered in real estate, of which about 763 million USD was disbursed. The capital mobilization channel through bonds is also actively issued by real estate enterprises, negotiating maturity bonds and buying back issued bonds...
Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, also commented that the market has passed the bottom. Specifically, according to data from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the bottom was from the first quarter of 2023, when the growth of the real estate sector was negative 16.1%, but then gradually improved. At the end of the second quarter of 2023, real estate still grew negative more than 11%, but from the third quarter it was only negative more than 8%.
One of the credit packages expected to create momentum for the real estate market recently is the VND120,000 billion loan package for investment in developing social housing projects. The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) said that from the first day of implementing this credit package, VND30,000 billion has been registered.
According to Mr. Pham Van Duong, Director of Agribank Binh Trieu Branch (HCMC), Agribank is a 100% state-owned bank, so all regulations must be strictly followed, including the VND120,000 billion package. Agribank has approached social housing projects since October 2022 and has been pursuing them until now. Regarding credit capital, the bank has surplus and is ready to lend to businesses. However, the problem is that when providing capital for projects, it must also fully comply with state regulations. Currently, Agribank is coordinating with businesses to remove difficulties to promptly disburse for projects.
"In particular, the interest rate for loans to buy social housing is the lowest in many recent years. Currently, Agribank is lending to customers to buy social housing with an interest rate 2% lower than the normal interest rate schedule. Low interest rates, available capital, just waiting for businesses to complete procedures for disbursement" - Mr. Duong affirmed.
Strengthening the role of working groups
There is no shortage of credit capital for social housing, but according to businesses, implementing these projects is very difficult.
Mr. Vo Minh Hoang, General Director of Ho Chi Minh City Social Housing Joint Stock Company, said that the government has many incentives to develop social housing but many businesses have not been able to access them. When they have not participated in social housing, they found it difficult, and when they participate, they find it even more difficult. Specifically, in addition to capital, businesses also face difficulties with land funds. Therefore, businesses want the government to review the land fund for lease, put it into the list of social housing development, and bid to select investors. After that, businesses will participate in developing social housing and calculate the cost of this land into the project development cost.
"Enterprises doing social housing projects only have a profit of 10%, but the selling price and the selling subjects must go through the Department of Construction. Meanwhile, there are costs that cannot be included in the selling price. Making social housing takes longer and is more difficult than commercial housing, making enterprises not interested. Waiting 2-3 years for banks to disburse loans is something that enterprises cannot wait for. Therefore, it is recommended to have a faster disbursement mechanism" - Mr. Hoang proposed.
The above difficulties of the real estate market have been identified and mentioned in the past. The remaining issue, according to experts and businesses shared at the discussion of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, is to propose the most feasible solution to quickly remove the difficulties.
Mr. Thai Doan Hoa, Deputy Head of the Housing Development and Real Estate Market Department - Dong Nai Department of Construction, said that through the review, Dong Nai has identified 5 groups of difficulties and obstacles in the real estate sector. In particular, the most prominent are difficulties and obstacles in procedures for approving investment policies - selecting investors. There are projects that have been approved for investment policies for many years, but now the inspection agency is re-examining the requirements for implementation according to the Housing Law - that is, there must be residential land. Land valuation is also difficult. There are projects that have been assigned but cannot be valued because consulting companies do not dare to value them due to concerns about difficulty in explaining to the authorities...
"There are many difficulties in implementing the task of building social housing in the project. Many projects have been implemented according to old regulations but later planning adjustments have been stuck. For example, the Housing Law stipulates that localities must re-evaluate and force enterprises to set aside 20% of the project area for social housing, which is very difficult" - Mr. Hoa stated the current situation.
To overcome the difficulties, Dong Nai province has planned to continue planning land for commercial housing from now until 2030, the rest for social housing. The planning work has been completed to be ready to call for investors, but there are still difficulties. From 2022 to now, the Provincial Party Committee and the People's Committee of Dong Nai province have directed the establishment of a working group to handle recommendations and remove difficulties for businesses.
Since the beginning of 2023, Dong Nai has established 3 working groups to remove obstacles for slow-moving projects, handle difficulties for enterprises, and develop social housing. All 3 working groups are headed by provincial leaders. Departments, specifically the Department of Construction, have also established working groups to remove difficulties within their authority in the direction of removing them in parts; if related to higher levels, they will register to work with ministries and branches to resolve them for enterprises.
Expecting 3 draft laws to be amended soon
One of the expected solutions is the three draft laws - including the Law on Real Estate Business (amended), the Law on Housing (amended), and the Law on Land (amended) - which are being discussed and commented on by the 6th session of the 15th National Assembly; if passed, they will remove legal obstacles for the real estate market.
Lawyer Nguyen Tan Phong, Standing Member of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, analyzed: The draft Law on Housing (amended) raises the issue that some disputes will be resolved through commercial arbitration. Currently, disputes between investors, home buyers and apartment users still occur, as many projects have not been issued certificates for many years. The new regulations in the draft law will help them understand more clearly.
The draft Law on Real Estate Business (amended) also mentions improving the quality of real estate brokerage in the coming time...
"When these three laws are passed, they will contribute to the dissemination and popularization of the law, improving the quality of participants in the real estate market, especially brokers," said lawyer Phong.
Authorities need specific and clear instructions.
Regarding the legal and procedural aspects of social housing construction, many experts believe that enterprises and associations need to specify the current difficult procedures, and which procedures need to be removed. Regarding the approach, the Government and relevant agencies need to provide specific and clear guidance on all issues that are complicated, overlapping, and inconsistent; localities also need to clarify, avoiding roundabout and ineffective consultation.
"The enterprises and associations themselves are making great efforts, but in my opinion, we need to try to make more accurate recommendations and have more closely accompanying solutions," Dr. Can Van Luc assessed.
PARTNER UNIT
Source: https://nld.com.vn/kinh-te/toa-dam-thao-go-vuong-mac-ve-phap-ly-cho-bat-dong-san-day-nhanh-toc-do-phuc-hoi-bat-dong-san-20231109222055675.htm
Comment (0)