Real estate inventory increases
According to the Ministry of Construction, according to statistics from 60/63 localities in the third quarter of 2024, the inventory of apartments, individual houses, and land plots was 25,937 products, an increase of 52% compared to the second quarter.
The above inventory is of projects that are eligible for trading according to the law but have not been traded in the reporting period. Notably, the apartment inventory in this quarter is 4,688 units, 12,250 individual houses, and 8,999 land lots.
In particular, the inventory of individual houses and land in the third quarter increased by 150.6% compared to the previous quarter.
According to the Ministry of Construction, there were more than 141,360 transactions of apartments, individual houses and land plots in the last quarter. Of these, nearly 103,000 transactions were of the land plot type, accounting for 73%.
Compared to the second quarter, the volume of transactions of apartments and individual houses has tended to increase, while land transactions have decreased by 18%.
Prices are still on the rise
The Ministry of Construction assessed that the price increase phenomenon is localized, occurring in some areas, types, and real estate segments, leading to an impact on increasing general prices.
Regarding apartments, apartment prices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City continued to increase in both new and old projects. The average price of new projects increased by about 4-6% per quarter and 22-25% per year. Some areas even increased locally by about 35-40% compared to the previous quarter.
Regarding villas and townhouses in projects, the Ministry of Construction said that in Hanoi, prices tend to continue to increase compared to the previous quarter. Most of the newly launched projects in this quarter are in favorable locations, located in areas with strong investment in infrastructure, so the primary asking price is relatively high.
In Ho Chi Minh City, primary prices were almost stable. Some areas saw sharp price drops in the high-end, large-area segment, down about 14% quarter-on-quarter and 28% year-on-year. In particular, products priced under VND10 billion had quite good transactions.
According to the report on the real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding areas in the third quarter of 2024 by DKRA, the selling price of primary apartments remains high under the pressure of input costs for project development, while being stimulated by many policies of quick payment discounts, principal and interest grace periods, etc. Secondary selling prices increased by 5 - 9% over the same period, focusing on projects that have handed over houses, have certificates, and are conveniently located to the center.
In the above context, the Ministry of Construction recommends that real estate businesses proactively review and reduce costs, actively apply modern technology in construction to reduce product prices in accordance with the actual market situation, in the spirit of "harmonizing benefits and sharing difficulties".
Enterprises should also proactively resolve legal and capital difficulties, and be responsible for focusing all resources on handling bad debts to continue implementing projects, opening them to the market, and avoiding spreading investments.
According to Mr. Le Hoang Chau - Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA), inventory is normal if it is part of the business plan and strategy of the enterprise. The worrying problem with inventory is that the products have been completed and sold on the market but are not accepted by the market, meaning low liquidity.
Mr. Chau commented that large inventories for weak businesses, using high financial leverage will be a "mountain of debt" weighing on the business's shoulders, when there is no liquidity, the business will face difficulties.
