"Dilemma" because of land
According to the reporter's investigation, at the end of the year, on social networking sites, there appeared a lot of information about selling agricultural land in the Mekong Delta region with attractive offers such as: Selling at a loss, deep discount, suffocating land... The land plots were sold by the owners at prices ranging from several hundred thousand to several million VND/m2.
Earlier this year, Mr. Tran Van Minh (Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho city) spent 1.1 billion VND to buy a 1,200m2 agricultural land plot with the expectation of converting it to residential land and enjoying a large profit.
However, the financial situation at the end of the year was difficult, along with the tightening of subdivision and land division, and high conversion fees, causing Mr. Minh to decide to sell and transfer the land. However, there have been no transactions to date.
"I chose to buy because I saw that the price of garden land and rice fields was still quite cheap, so the capital would be low. Now, even though I've transferred them for a loss of 900 million VND, customers still say it's expensive. If I convert them to residential land, the conversion fee will be high, but if I convert them to farming land, I can't afford it. I'm stuck in a dilemma," said Mr. Minh.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Khuong (Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang) had expected the price of agricultural land to increase when the investment wave poured in in mid-2024. Therefore, he kept 1,500m2 of land. However, the market is no longer optimistic, this man quickly found a way to get rid of the goods.
"If my finances are stable, converting to a high-quality ecological agricultural model is very feasible, but converting to residential land to make a profit is currently very difficult. I have been selling at a loss for 2-3 months now and still have no customers," said Mr. Khuong.
Tighten up subdivision and land division
After the Laws related to real estate came into effect, they helped to resolve problems and increase investor confidence. Regulations tightening the subdivision and sale of land helped the market to operate openly and transparently.
In the Mekong Delta region, localities have also issued regulations on conditions for land division, land consolidation and minimum area for land division for each type of land in the area.
For example, in Can Tho City, for agricultural land and perennial land, the minimum area for new plot separation is greater than or equal to 150m2 (Ninh Kieu district) and greater than or equal to 300m2 for land in wards and towns, and greater than or equal to 600m2 for land in communes in the remaining districts.
In Hau Giang, the minimum area for separating agricultural land plots is 700m2 for annual crop land (including rice land and other annual crop land) and aquaculture land. And perennial crop land, production forest land and other agricultural land is 300m2.
According to data from the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS), agricultural land prices in many areas have decreased by about 10-20% due to cooling demand in recent times. In the first 6 months of the year, there have been no signs of recovery for project land and agricultural and forestry land, with sluggish liquidity and slow transactions.
Experts say that the new regulations of the 2024 Land Law create favorable conditions for farmers and are suitable for businesses investing in the agricultural sector. In particular, investing in and buying agricultural land to change its purpose and divide it into plots for sale is very difficult to do.
The 2024 Land Law also stipulates cases of land reclamation due to violations of land laws. In particular, it stipulates that agricultural land, depending on the type, if left fallow or not used continuously for 12-24 months will be subject to administrative penalties and may be reclamation.
Investing in agricultural land to anticipate projects waiting for planning, holding land for speculative investment will face many risks, with the possibility of having capital "buried" if not converted to farming or residential land.
