Desolate villas and townhouses in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City

In early November, walking around some urban projects in the old District 9 (now Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City), projects in Nhon Trach, Long Thanh (Dong Nai), Can Giuoc, Duc Hoa (Long An) districts..., we realized that the difficulties of the real estate market still exist when many projects have been completed but few residents have moved in, and the selling price has decreased sharply compared to a few years ago.

Hard to sell at any price

At the DV project (Nguyen Thi Tu street, old district 9), nearly 700 completed townhouses were handed over about 2 years ago, but very few residents have moved in, so the whole area is always deserted.

Recently, people who bought townhouses here have been constantly reselling them but it is very difficult to find buyers. Previously, townhouses in this project were advertised for sale at 6.5-6.8 billion VND/unit with an area of ​​6x15m, now reduced to 4.9-5.2 billion VND; and 8x20m villas previously priced at 10-11 billion VND or more, now reduced to less than 9 billion VND.

"Last year, I planned to borrow another 4 billion VND from the bank to buy a villa in the project when I saw the owner selling it at a loss of only 9 billion VND, but then I stopped. I didn't expect that the current price is only 8.3-8.5 billion VND. If I had decided to borrow from the bank to buy the house at that time, I would have lost a billion VND by now," said Mr. Duc Toan, a resident of Thao Dien area, Thu Duc City.

Once a famous project in Nhon Trach New City with the expectation of welcoming Ring Road 3 and Long Thanh Airport, Swan Park City project is still very sparsely populated even though it has been handed over for 3 years. Many townhouses and villas in this area are currently in a dusty, deserted state. People who bought houses in this project have continuously advertised for sale for the past year but have not found any buyers.

According to a survey by a reporter from Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, townhouses measuring 6x17m in this project are being sold for around 3 billion VND; townhouses measuring 9x17m are priced at around 4.1 billion VND/unit; and shophouses are priced at over 5 billion VND/unit. This price is much lower than 2 years ago, while this is a project with completed infrastructure, beautiful roads, green trees, and full internal facilities such as parks and swimming pools.

Some households in the area said that because the project does not have a certificate (land use rights certificate and house ownership certificate - PV), and is being inspected because it is related to the old investor, Tin Nghia Company, many people, even though they see the project as good and cheap, still decide to "turn around" and not buy anymore because they are afraid of legal problems. Those who have bought do not want to move in but only hope that the price will increase so they can sell for profit, except for those who are stuck with bank loans and are forced to sell at a loss.

Also in the Dong Nai area, a series of other projects are in a state of disrepair, such as the SCT Long Thanh project, which covers an area of ​​about 20 hectares with hundreds of townhouses, shophouses, villas, etc. Many of the houses have been completed but the interior is deserted because no one lives there.

It is worth mentioning that this project has a prime location, an area of ​​over 20 hectares, just a few kilometers from Long Thanh airport. According to the plan, the project has a total of 1,083 plots of land, of which 263 are townhouses, 789 are garden townhouses and 31 are semi-detached villas.

Next to it is the Century City project with an area of ​​nearly 50 hectares located on the frontage of Provincial Road 769, in Binh Son Commune (Long Thanh District). According to the plan, the project has 2,128 lots, including villas, townhouses, and garden townhouses. Currently, there are about a hundred completed houses, including many shophouses but no one has moved in or done business.

An urban area in Dong Nai is quite deserted even though the investor has handed over the houses to buyers.

Opportunity for home buyers

According to Dr. Cao Vu Minh, University of Economics and Law, real estate that has been handed over to customers but does not have complete legal documents and cannot be issued a certificate is temporarily called "defective" real estate, so it cannot have the price expected by the buyer.

Projects that do not have legal guarantees and do not ensure utilities and infrastructure connections are even more difficult to attract residents, and prices are even lower than the original. However, this is an opportunity for those who buy to live, while those who buy to invest are also very few because at this stage, few investors dare to "put down money". Therefore, bustling projects with full utilities will maintain their prices, otherwise they will fall into a state of disrepair, and even if the price drops sharply, there will still be no buyers.

"Previously, when the market was still good, many large investors created trust for customers, so when they launched any project, buyers trusted and paid. Later, when the market was difficult, buyers considered very carefully, chose reputable investors, chose projects with full legal documents, reasonable product prices, and could not buy randomly like before" - Dr. Cao Vu Minh acknowledged.

The real estate market is currently a buyer's market, so both buyers and brokers are very careful in choosing investors and projects to buy or distribute.

According to a recent survey by the Dat Xanh Real Estate Services Economic Research Institute, the top factor influencing customers' decision to buy real estate products is the project's legality, followed by quick payment fees, investor reputation, products that are suitable for their budget, etc. In fact, most real estate brokerage companies currently mainly choose projects with safe legality and quick payment fees.

When brokerage firms are also cautious in selecting real estate products for sale, investors are forced to seriously implement projects in order to hope for successful sales. This will have a positive impact on the general market in the long run and restore the confidence of real estate buyers.

Improved customer sentiment

Dr. Pham Anh Khoi, Director of the Dat Xanh Real Estate Services Economic Research Institute, cited a survey by the institute showing that in the third quarter of 2023, the real estate market recorded improved customer sentiment. The rate of real estate searches by customers increased, especially in the segment serving real estate needs. Their needs focus on products with full legal documents, reputable investors and competitive sales policies, especially in terms of finance and payment.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/kinh-te/diu-hiu-biet-thu-nha-pho-vung-ven-2023110621555237.htm