A positive change in the property market has been seen in the last quarter of 2013 thanks to the Government’s solutions, according to Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung.

The minister noted that in recent months, the property market has seen an increase in transactions, particularly in affordable medium and small-scale housing, adding that supply for the segment still fails to meet the demand.

He said the sharp drop in real estate prices over the past two years is inevitable after prices reached artificial high levels well above the purchasing capacity, and forecast that the liquidity of property products will be improved when prices come close to affordability.
Discussing the implementation of the Government’s 30 trillion VND package for low-income homebuyers and corporate customers developing social housing projects, minister Dung admitted that disbursement of the preferential source is still sluggish.

He said the country needs more than one million social homes, but the construction could not be done in a short time. At the same time, many obstacles, including tight procedures and low profit, discouraged housing developers from investing in social housing projects.

The minister reiterated the resolve to carry out the programme, and urged the banking system and local administrations to try and cut unnecessary procedures, facilitating people’s access to the bailout money.

Moreover, he stressed the need to fight against wastefulness and loss in construction, which is an urgent issue.

The over-supply of property products is the result of spontaneous investment without planning, leading to “suspended” projects and bad debts in the real estate sector.

The government has issued two decrees to tighten management of urban development and construction quality, and will continue to refine legal documents related to this field.-VNA