Prices fall deeply, liquidity is still low
The land plot market in Ca Mau is falling into a state of sluggishness. In many residential areas and urban projects in the old Bac Lieu area and the province center, the number of people advertising for sale has increased while customers looking to buy have decreased significantly.
Some land owners accept to reduce prices by 30-40% compared to when the market was bustling, but still find it difficult to find buyers.
In Hoang Phat Urban Area, Bac Lieu ward, land plots used to be priced at about 1.3 - 3.5 billion VND/plot. Currently, some plots are offered for sale under 1 billion VND. In Trang An Residential Area, land plots that were previously rarely under 1 billion VND can now be offered for about 700 million VND, with certificates and notarization immediately.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Toan (name changed), a real estate broker in the old Bac Lieu area, said that the market currently has very few transactions. Although many land owners have reduced prices, the number of customers asking to buy is still insignificant.
According to Mr. Toan, after the provincial administrative center moved to Ca Mau, the demand for real estate in the old Bac Lieu area decreased accordingly. Many officials and people tend to move to the new central area, affecting the demand for land plots.
Meanwhile, the expectation of land prices increasing in the center of Ca Mau after the province's merger has not yet become a reality.
Mr. Nguyen Phong Phu, who is selling a house in Hoang Tam Residential Area due to transfer, said that previously someone offered 1.6 billion VND but he did not sell because he thought the price was low. Currently, he has reduced the price to 1.4 billion VND but has been selling for about 3 months and no one has asked.
Land plots at projects in the Ca Mau area are currently offered at prices ranging from about 800 million VND to 4 billion VND/plot, depending on location. However, the number of successful transactions is still low.
Not only land plots, but also pre-built house prices have decreased. At the Hoang Phat project, one-story, one-story, 3-bedroom houses that previously cost more than 2.6 billion VND are now offered for sale at about 2 billion VND.
New supply continues to pull prices down
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Han - Deputy Director of Ca Mau Department of Construction, the decrease in land plot prices is not simply due to market weakness or cash flow shifting to banks as some opinions in the market say.
Ca Mau is implementing many commercial housing projects, rental housing, housing for officials, low-income housing and social housing. This supply creates more choices for those in need, and at the same time directly affects the land plot price level.
Notably, some completed social housing projects are priced at about 1.4 billion VND/unit. When buyers have more choices with more suitable prices, land plots in residential areas are also under adjustment pressure. "This is what pulls down land plot prices in Ca Mau," Mr. Han said.
The decrease in land prices may open up more opportunities for people with real needs to buy land and build houses. However, the Ca Mau Department of Construction believes that the asking prices at some real estate exchanges are still high compared to the land price list announced by the province.
According to the assessment of the Department of Construction, the current land price level may not have bottomed out. When housing and residential land projects are deployed and put into operation simultaneously from 2028, increased supply may continue to put pressure on land plot prices.
The market is therefore facing a period of adjustment, in which selling prices are closer to the affordability of buyers with real needs instead of relying on price increase expectations.
