Interest in the property market in the biggest central city is expected to rise in low and medium priced neighborhoods after the Da Nang People's Council announced new rates for 2014.

Under the new rates, land fronting Nguyen Van Linh, Hung Vuong and Le Duan streets will become the city's most expensive real estate, with prices of 25.2 million VND (1,200 USD) per square metre or 37.5 percent less, in comparison to last year's price of 40.32 million VND (1,920 USD).

Meanwhile, each square metre of commercial real estate in the main downtown is to range from 15.2 million VND (723 USD) to 21.8 million VND (1,038 USD).

Further, a square metre of new residential property in outlying areas will be priced at 5 million VND (238 USD).

The decreased price of land is meant to end the stagnation in the real estate market in the central city, as seen in recent years.

According to vice chairman of the city's Property Association Vo Van Cuong, sales of real estate in the city in 2013 saw a sharp decline of 80 percent.

"It's actually a poor year for selling property in the city. We estimated that 12,000 plots of land from 26 projects had been available, even as they were intentionally offered with large discounts under special promotional programmes," Cuong said.

"In the final quarter of the year, investors offered a mass sale at reduced prices, but the city's property market saw a slump in different sections of resettlement and residential apartments and urban areas.

"Sun Group, a property developer, has reduced sales prices for lands in its urban project in Cam Le district from 500 million VND (23,800 USD) for a 100sq.m plot to 340 million VND (16,200 USD)."

He added that the Golden Hills urban project in Lien Chieu district has offered the public a 50 percent price decrease, from 4.5-5.5 million VND per square metre to 2-2.3 million VND, to boost sales in the final quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Minh Tien, a real estate broker, said land prices in the central city have been falling sharply.

"Investors could earn a big profit from lucrative land purchases in the past few years, but they rarely spend money in property speculation. Brokers now only expect a small profit to deal with huge inventories," Tien said.

He also suggested that speculators would earn profits in the long term through the purchase of small and medium plots for housing.

Investors also offer a five-month deferred payment for land plots valued at 500 million VND to lure buyers.

The vice chairman of the Da Nang Property Association, Cuong, said he expects apartments with prices of 3-5 million VND per square metre would be attractive to buyers in the first quarter of next year.

At the same time, tourism property developments have attracted foreign investment. According to the city's investment promotion centre, investment in resorts and tourism made up 22 percent of the city's total FDI projects in 2013.-VNA