Some property experts expect the market to improve early this year though most say it will continue to face difficulties, at least to the end of the second quarter.
Some property experts expect the market to improve early this year though most say it will continue to face difficulties, at least to the end of the second quarter.
The optimists hold that government efforts will help the market recovery, saying now is the chance for buyers with actual demands for housing to make good bargains.
After the long Tet holiday, most property exchanges in Hanoi have resumed operation.
Some have signed their first contracts of the year for brokerage of apartments, residential land or semi-detached houses.
A representative of the property exchange Phuc Thinh in Hanoi said his office had successfully brought back two apartment purchase contracts in Dich Vong and Xa La on the first opening day after Tet.
Since early January, the two offices of this brokerage firm have won four apartment and land contracts compared to the five signed in the last quarter of 2011.
Explaining these positive signs, the representative said some investors deemed it good luck to make transactions at the beginning of a new year.
Meanwhile,those in need of housing are also taking advantage of the low season after Tet to look for houses at reasonable prices.
A popular area in Hanoi is Thanh Tri District, which is not too far from downtown.
Residents in Duyen Ha Commune, Thanh Tri District said that after Tet, many people had come to seek residential land and some successful transactions had been made.
Representatives of many other real estate trading floors in Hanoi show optimism about the market's short-term outlook.
However, property experts say the market may not prosper much this year since funding for the sector still depends heavily on the banking system. If interest rates are still high, the market cannot thrive.
Furthermore, Nguyen Van Duc, director of Dat Land Real Estate Co., said many cashstrapped investors would sell their projects to pay their debts. If the situation worsened this year, many investors would have to restructure their financing sources.
If the central bank flexibly and selectively relaxed its credit policy for the property market, and if proposals by ministries were approved by the government, the market could make some recovery, but not until the third and fourth quarter of 2012, said a representative of the Vietnam Real Estate Association. In fact, apart from a few small transactions, many big projects in Hanoi have not recorded positive changes in their sales.
A project on Kim Dong Street has attracted much attention because of the selling price of only 18 million dong per square metre, coupled with autos as gifts, to improve the sluggish pre-Tet sales.
Some 22,000 apartments of 60 projects will be launched in Hanoi this year, according to a report by CBRE. This will put more pressure on property developers as trading volume is expected to stay low and the percentage of successful deals insignificant.
Besides, they will have to compete with investors involved in land lot selling projects, who have pulled down their prices sharply in last year's fourth quarter.
CBRE said the future developments of the market would depend much on the recovery of the economy.
By the end of 2012, the housing projects whose prices are 21 million dong per square metre will stay resilient. Besides, the luxury projects in downtown Hanoi and HCM City will catch the attention of financially capable investors and families.
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