People in need have difficulty accessing social housing.
In the report on the implementation of the 2024 Socio-Economic Development Plan, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that the real estate market has shown 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 sharp 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.
"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 also 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.
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.
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 strong measures against violations of social housing policies and laws.
Prevent market manipulation
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 the auction that lasted all night, pushing the price of more than a dozen winning plots of land to over 100 million VND/m2. The highest winning plot was priced at over 133 million VND/m2 - 18 times higher than the starting price. The situation of "abandoning deposits" after winning the auction has negatively impacted the price level and the housing market. In addition, the situation of monopolization, price inflation, creating waves, and land speculation has pushed up land prices, causing buying and selling to take place almost exclusively among speculators.
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.
Analyzing the complicated real estate market, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man emphasized the need to prevent "monopolization" activities in the market that have been taking place recently.
According to the National Assembly Chairman, the people's demand for housing is very high but due to high prices, it is difficult to access. In many places, commercial housing is built but no one lives in it, which is also an issue that needs to be considered and resolved.
The fact that many land projects in localities are stalled requires effective solutions; at the same time, there needs to be support policies for businesses facing difficulties.
