The real estate market in the capital city of Hanoi is expected to warm up next month because of activity in the low-income housing sector.

Both the agreement to secure bank loans for the Kien Hung affordable housing project and the reduction in the interest rates for those loans would catalyse the recovery of Hanoi's real estate market in the near future, said investor Hanh Nguyen.

Therefore, Nguyen bought an apartment in the Van Phu Urban project for VND55-56 million VND per square metre and hopes to profit when the property market recovers.

Le Xuan Nghia, an economic expert, said the property market often performed better when the State loosened its credit policy.

Hoang Hung, a real estate broker in Hanoi's Thanh Xuan District, said many customers studied the trends in low-income apartments and were expected to buy next month.

Nguyen Tat Cong, owner of a real estate trading floor in Cau Giay District, said his team had successfully purchased apartments at around 2 billion VND per unit.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said that demand for real estate would remain high in the long term so the market would attract further local and foreign investors in the future.

However, so far, it is difficult to predict when the property market will recovery completely because it depends on economic recovery at home and abroad, he said.

Nghia said that if the Government's macro-economic policies are effective, inflation will start to fall in early 2012 and the bank will be able to reduce interest rates for loans and loosen credit. Only then will the property market make a full recovery./.