On the morning of October 9, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave its opinion on the Government's report on the results of implementing the socio-economic development plan.
Referring to the content related to the real estate market in the inspection report, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that the real estate market has signs of recovery but still faces difficulties.
The inspection agency stated that since the beginning of 2024, the prices of apartments in the center or suburbs of Hanoi have recorded a sudden increase.
According to the Economic Committee, some people think that the main reason is that the supply of apartments in Hanoi is really scarce. The number of projects has been increasingly limited in recent years, while the demand of customers, especially young families, is still very high.
The product structure in the market is unbalanced when the affordable apartment segment is scarce, causing apartment prices in the primary and secondary segments to be pushed up, making it difficult for people with real housing needs to access.
"Even for social housing, there is currently a situation where people in need cannot buy due to complicated procedures and speculation, with a huge price difference between the selling price registered by the investor with the State and the actual selling price.
There are opinions that social housing is actually bought, sold, exchanged, and rented mainly by rich people, even foreigners, not workers, laborers, or people with real needs for this type of housing," the inspection report stated.
The Economic Committee cited information reflecting the reality of many foreigners renting and living in social housing projects in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh - two industrial capitals in the North.
Therefore, the Economic Committee recommends that the Government conduct a comprehensive inspection of social housing development in recent years to find effective solutions; and study and take strong measures against violations of social housing policies and laws.
Along with the sudden increase in apartment prices, the National Assembly's inspection agency stated that the reality is that land prices in inner-city and suburban districts of Hanoi have shown signs of increasing rapidly again, especially in districts with information about upgrading to districts.
In particular, recently, a series of auctions in districts on the outskirts of Hanoi have caused a stir in the market. In Hoai Duc district, hundreds of investors participated in an auction that lasted all night, pushing the price of more than a dozen winning plots to over VND100 million/m2. The highest winning plot was priced at over VND133 million/m2 - 18 times higher than the starting price.
The audit report also reflects that in many suburban areas of large cities, the occupancy rate after "dividing and selling land" is only 5%; meaning that after many years of dividing and selling 100 plots of land, only 5 plots were used (to build houses), while the remaining 95 plots were abandoned, causing a waste of social resources.
Previously, from September 24, Lao Dong Newspaper published a series of articles reflecting many foreigners living in social housing in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh - places that are designated for workers and low-income people.
Areas with many foreigners living include Evergreen Bac Giang, Van Trung, Noi Hoang (Bac Giang), Kinh Bac, V-city, Cat Tuong, Thong Nhat (Bac Ninh). The Ministry of Construction has sent a document requesting the People's Committees of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces to inspect the situation of foreigners renting and living in social housing areas in the area.
