HCMCity (VNA) – Experts gathered at a recent conference in HCM City todiscuss measures to develop a transparent and sustainable property market inVietnam in the next 10-15 years.

Nguyen Duc Hien, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission,said the real estate market plays an important role, creating valuable assetsfor the economy, meeting housing demands of residents, and facilitating thedevelopment of other markets.

However, he noted that the market still sees many limitations such asunsustainable development, ineffective market management due to inconsistent policies,and complicated administrative procedures related to property investment.

The country's authorities should focus on amending real estate laws toeliminate inconsistencies and incorporate policies to encourage social housingover the next decade, said Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh.

The Government and the Party had been rolling out numerous policies to supportthe development of the market, he added.

Despite COVID-19 impacting many areas, “the real estate market is still seeingdevelopment this year, though not as much as in other years.”

Ha Quang Hung, deputy head of the ministry’s housing and real estate marketmanagement department, said there were around 5,000 real estate projectsunderway now worth a total of more than 194 billion USD.

Real estate was also among the top sectors in attracting FDI, and real estateproducts were growing in terms of variety, he said.

Demand would continue to rise until 2030, especially in urban areas due toeconomic and population growth, and around 70 million square metres of urbanhousing would be needed every year.

But there are too many luxury property products and not enough social housingfor low-income people despite there being more demand for the latter.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HCM City Real Estate Association, said, “The lawsand regulations governing the real estate market are generally too convolutedand inconsistent, which can deter investors.”

Despite efforts being made to streamline them in the last 10 years, thereare still inconsistencies, according to Chau.

For instance, regulations contradict one another on whether businesses need toinvite bids to carry out commercial housing projects and there areinconsistencies related to value added tax and income tax deductions for socialhousing developers.

Administrative procedures (such as issuing house ownership certificates andidentifying land prices) are still seen as too cumbersome, and could drive updevelopers’ expenses.

He called for adjustments to housing laws and supportive financial policies tospeed up procedures and facilitate social housing development.    

Sinh said his ministry would continue to amend the laws, and urged localauthorities to facilitate the housing market by aiding businesses andmonitoring the market to ensure supply and demand are balanced. 

Dr Le Thai Thuong Quan of the HCM City Open University said modern technologiessuch as big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain were affecting theState’s management of real estate, business activities and buyers’ research.

The conference was held by the Communist Party’s Central Economic Committee,the HCM City Real Estate Association and the HCM City Open University./.