HCMC sees no housing supply from new projects due to regulatory conditions

Two real estate projects in Ho Chi Minh City failed to meet the regulatory conditions to mobilize capital in the first quarter of this year, worsening the lack of new properties on the market, said a representative of the municipal Department of Construction.

Six projects were put up for sale during the period, but all of them were in their expansion phases, supplying 440 units, down 34% year-on-year, with 247 units (56%) sold. The units offered and sold were 384 and 228 in January, and 56 and 19 in February, respectively.

In Q1, only one project was given in-principal approval: a high-end apartment, service and trade center on Nguyen Van Cu street, District 5, said the official at a press conference earlier this week on the city's Q1 socio-economic situation.

"Developers want to put new projects up for sale, but they do not meet the required conditions. In fact, there are still housing products brought to the market from projects whose eligibility had been previously approved by the department," the official added.

Real estate business revenue in Q1 increased by 20.1% year-on-year, according to the municipal Statistics Office.

HCMC has taken many measures to solve the undersupply issue. It has assigned specific tasks to each department, agency, district, and Thu Duc city to jointly remove barriers to real estate projects headed by its Chairman Phan Van Mai.

In addition, the city established a working group in charge of clearing obstacles for investment projects.

At the end of 2022, the city government assigned the construction department to review the progress of 148 housing projects and the settlement of 189 recommendations compiled by the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA).

By Q3/2023, the city had resolved 52 of the recommendations.