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In the first 9 months of 2024, the Vietnamese real estate market has recorded many positive changes, reflected in the recovery of supply, selling prices and increased demand from buyers. Along with that, many real estate projects and enterprises have made their mark through specific activities, bringing new vitality to the market.

Positive change

According to a report by Savills Vietnam, in the first 9 months of 2024, apartments priced above VND4 billion accounted for 70% of the total number of apartments sold. Notably, apartment prices in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City continued to record significant growth. In Hanoi, new apartment prices increased by 6%, reaching an average of VND69 million/m²; while in Ho Chi Minh City, new apartment prices reached VND68 million/m². The price escalation shows the heat and high demand of the market.

Newly launched luxury apartment projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have received great attention from customers, with absorption rates of up to 60% - 80%. The projects not only contribute to increasing supply to the market but also attract a large number of residents thanks to modern infrastructure and convenient traffic connections.

Large enterprises in the real estate sector such as Vingroup, Novaland, Sun Group... have all made strong progress in implementing projects and promoting business activities. One typical example is Hoa Binh Construction Group Corporation, one of the largest contractors in the construction sector, which has received support from the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) with a credit limit extension of up to VND 4,000 billion. This not only helps Hoa Binh overcome the difficult period but is also a positive sign of the recovery of large real estate enterprises.

A series of super projects of Aqua City (Dong Nai) and NovaWorld Phan Thiet (Phan Thiet) of Novaland Group have recorded a certain recovery with a steady increase in transaction volume after legal problems were gradually resolved.

The positive changes in the real estate market in the first 9 months of 2024 come not only from the economic recovery and real demand from the people but also from the removal of legal obstacles. The promulgation of the Land Law 2024, the Housing Law 2023 and the Real Estate Business Law 2023 have created a more transparent legal corridor for businesses and investors. Regulations on land valuation, licensing procedures and site clearance have been significantly improved, helping to minimize legal barriers that real estate businesses often encounter.

For example, real estate projects in Ho Chi Minh City have had difficulties related to granting permits for building basements resolved. Decision 3803/QD-UBND and Decision 3804/QD-UBND of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee are the basis for approving the master plan, moving towards completing the update of adjusted construction permits for real estate projects in the area... With these decisions, it is expected that legal problems in projects in Ho Chi Minh City will gradually be resolved.

According to Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, the Land Law 2024 and Decree 71/2024 regulating land prices have removed obstacles for many projects that have not calculated land use fees in Ho Chi Minh City. Currently, the city has about 200 real estate projects with land finance problems. In 2024, Ho Chi Minh City will remove obstacles for 36 projects and issue about 17,500 certificates.

A corner of the Aqua City urban area (305 hectares) of Novaland Group is gradually having its problems resolved. Photo: NGUYEN TUAN

In particular, recently, determining that the removal of legal obstacles for real estate projects in Dong Nai is still slow compared to neighboring provinces, Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, Mr. Vo Tan Duc emphasized that priority will be given to removing difficulties related to the planning of subdivision C4 in Bien Hoa City. This subdivision has an area of ​​up to 1,500 hectares with large projects including: large-scale residential and urban areas such as Long Hung residential area (227 hectares), Phuoc Hung Islet commercial service urban area (286 hectares) invested by DonaCoop, Dong Nai Waterfront urban area (170 hectares) by Nam Long Investment Joint Stock Company and Aqua City urban area (305 hectares) by Novaland Group.

In addition, credit policies from the State Bank also contributed to stabilizing the market. According to a report by the State Bank of Vietnam, by the end of June 2024, real estate loans increased by 4.6%, of which real estate business loans increased by 10.3%, especially home loans increased by 1.2%. This shows the support of the financial system for the real estate sector, while strengthening the confidence of investors and home buyers.

According to Dr. Can Van Luc, chief economist of BIDV, the real estate market has officially entered a period of positive recovery. The stable macro economy, controlled inflation and gradually improved legal policies have created conditions for the real estate market to develop more strongly in the coming time. In addition, investment in transport infrastructure, especially metro lines in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, will continue to be an important factor promoting market growth.

Difficulties and challenges remain

However, in the context of the Land Law 2024, Housing Law 2023 and Real Estate Business Law 2023 just taking effect, the real estate industry still faces a series of difficulties and challenges. If there are no solutions, it will increase the long-standing shortcomings.

According to the Ministry of Construction, one of the most important points of the 2024 Land Law is to remove the old land price framework. Instead, the land price list is updated annually, determining prices close to the market. This means that the cost of investment in construction and development of real estate projects will increase, leading to an increase in real estate and housing prices of 15% -20%. This change can cause difficulties for both investors and home buyers. On the other hand, if the new land price list is not strictly enforced, it will create opportunities for speculation and market manipulation, leading to increased inequality in home ownership opportunities among different classes of people.

Another important proposal is to consider taxing those who own many properties, but it must be based on the principle of creating value for society. Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Vice President of the Vietnam Real Estate Association and President of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, emphasized that taxation should not only be based on the number of properties owned but also on the purpose of use. Those who buy properties for rent, creating added value for the community, should not be bound by this tax policy.

Ms. Do Thu Hang, Director of Savills Hanoi, said that the second real estate tax requires careful preparation to ensure uniformity nationwide. Without uniformity in the management system and technical measures such as bank transactions and asset declaration, the tax will not achieve the desired effect and may even cause market disruption.

An important factor contributing to the high housing prices is the imbalance between supply and demand. Currently, the housing supply is still too low compared to the demand, especially the low-cost housing segment, suitable for people with low and middle incomes. To regulate the market, the Ministry of Construction proposed to unblock the real estate supply by removing legal obstacles in stalled projects, while promoting the launch of new projects.

According to Ms. Ho Thi Thu Mai, Director of Vietnam Housing Company (Hanoi), if there are no drastic measures from the government and enterprises to increase supply, especially in the social housing and low-cost housing segment, the market will face serious consequences. People with real housing needs will have difficulty owning a house and the "price fever" situation can lead to instability for the entire market.

Tighten land auction regulations

One of the important methods to develop real estate revenue for the state budget is through the form of land use rights auction. The Ministry of Construction believes that land allocation and leasing through auction has limited negative aspects, helped reduce the situation of asking and giving and increased revenue. However, this process also faces many limitations, typically the phenomenon of "auction brokers" colluding to create "virtual prices" to manipulate the market.

To overcome the negative aspects of land use rights auctions, the Ministry of Construction proposed to increase the deposit amount when participating in auctions and shorten the time to pay after winning the auction to prevent speculative activities and create a virtual price level. This regulation helps to minimize the situation of auction participants with the purpose of buying and reselling for profit, instead, only those with real needs participate.

Today, the talk show "Identifying the real estate market at the end of 2024, beginning of 2025"

The seminar was organized by the Lao Dong Newspaper and took place at 8:00 a.m. on October 10 at the 2nd floor conference hall of the Lao Dong Newspaper, 123-127 Vo Van Tan, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. This is an opportunity for management agencies, businesses and experts to come up with solutions to promote market development in the coming time.

The seminar focused on the following contents: Current status of the real estate market, forecast for the coming time; impact of 3 new laws related to the real estate market as well as the implementation of documents guiding the implementation of the law; issues related to land price list and tax...

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tim-them-giai-phap-cho-bat-dong-san-196241009213859647.htm