The HCM City Real Estate Association (HOREA) plans to give priority to the medium- and low-priced housing segment to meet increased demand during the 2010-15 period.

That goal was announced at the second Congress held on Dec. 11 in HCM City by the association to discuss its plans for the next five years.

Other housing priorities include student dormitories, worker houses, resettlement apartments and social housing.

The association said it would use advanced information technology to design and build a variety of property products, especially environmentally friendly housing models at reasonable prices.

The association will also urge members to finish their projects on schedule.

In addition, it aims to increase the transparency of the real estate transaction floor by providing more market information.

Establishing close links with international organisations to organise events will also be a priority so that more foreign investment would be poured into the property market.

The association plans to ask the Department of Construction and the Central Steering Committee for Housing Policy and Real Estate Market to give it authority to issue brokerage certificates, assess prices and manage the property transaction floor.

It will also ask the HCM City People's Committee to officially recognise annual titles for the year's best property business, environmentally friendly property project and property transaction floor. The association will continue to organise seminars and conferences to help businesses and members discuss problems they have in complying with the State's laws on property investment, business and development.

Various companies will propose amendments to current laws to create the most favourable conditions and a sustainable property market.

HOREA said that, in collaboration with the International Real Estate Federation for Asia Pacific and Asian Public Real Estate Association, CB Richard Ellis, National University of Singapore and Savills, Cushman and Wakefield Vietnam, it would continue to organise many "property nights" to provide businesses with information from foreign experts.

The aim is to increase the competitiveness of Vietnamese businesses in global and regional economic integration.

Seminars on new services, products and technologies will be also organised./.