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Is it time to buy a house?
Real estate developers want consumers to believe that it is the right time to purchase homes, but the public is still hesitant to buy because they believe that housing prices are still too high.
Dang Hong Anh, Chair of Sacomreal, affirmed that, since early 2008, the real estate market has been quiet even though prices have been decreasing. The Director of a big real estate company in HCM City noted that area land and house prices are now 20-40 percent cheaper than the highest peak seen during the 2007 “land fever.”
He cited Thanh My Loi project land prices as an example. In 2007, land was some 40 million dong per square metre, while now it is 25-30 million dong. Similarly, land at Him Lam-Kenh Te project has dropped from 60 million dong per square metre to 35 million dong and land at Phu Xuan project has declined from 18 million dong to eight million.
Real estate developers believe that prices are now low enough for people to afford houses and they also claim that prices will not decline further.
They also point to many other positive conditions for people to purchase land and houses. Bank lending interest rates have decreased from 18-19 percent per annum to 14-15 percent. Financial experts believe that interest rates may decrease even further to 12-14 percent per annum.
“For a long time, high interest rates were the biggest barrier, however, it has been decreasing,” explained an analyst. “Therefore, now is the right time to purchase houses and land, a period when people can purchase houses at lower prices and can also access bank loans at lower costs.”
Despite this advice, few are eager, leaving the market blanketed in silence. Analysts maintain that, despite sharp price decreases, HCM City real estate is still over-priced. The city’s land is listed among the highest-priced in the world.
To jumpstart the market, developers have been promoting low-cost apartments.
According to Vietrees, a market survey firm, most people want to buy homes for accommodations rather than for investment, while acceptable prices are between 12 million and 20 million dong per square metre.
Le Hoang Chau, Chair of HCM City Real Estate Association, admitted that the city will have many low and medium-priced apartments marketed in the future, mainly those with prices of 12-15 million dong per square metre.
According to Chau, apartment prices are now “very soft” and buyers have many choices, which allows for negotiation to purchase apartments at the best prices.
vietnamnet, DTCK
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