HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh Cityneeds better cooperation among the State, developers, builders, materialsuppliers and banks to improve the local property market, the HCM City RealEstate Association has said.

In a document sent to city authorities on developing the property market fromnow to 2020 with a vision toward 2025, the association’s Chairman Le Hoang Chausaid that such cooperation would help the sector develop in a more transparentand stable manner.

He said that State agencies along with enterprises should improveadministrative procedures, develop a one-stop policy, and reduce the number ofprocedures as well as set up a database of the city’s real estate market.

Such cooperation among all parties would result in better material prices, Chausaid.

Citing the shortage of city funds, the association also suggested using thefinancing methods of build-transfer (BT) or public-private partnerships (PPP).

It also said the city should strictly manage and ensure the quality ofconstruction, and develop social and commercial housing at affordable prices.

Low-cost housing is especially needed, the association said, because nearly 3million of the 13 million people in the city are migrants, or 23 percent of thetotal population.

Of the total, there are about 400,000 students, with 50,000 people marryingannually.

The association also cited a Department of Construction report which said that500,000 families in the city do not own housing.

During the 2016-20 period, 81,000 households needed social housing, the reportsaid.

Developing social housing and inexpensive commercial housing as well as housingleased at low prices are the key responsibilities of the city, it said.

In the last 10 years, HCM City’s real estate market has developed strongly,with two bubble periods, one in 2007 and the other in 2010.

The market was frozen, however, from 2008 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2013.

The market began to recover in late 2013, but stagnant signs appeared inmid-2016 as there was an imbalance between demand and supply.

While supply has primarily focused on the luxury segment with condotels andluxury apartments, the demand was for apartments and houses with affordableprices of around 1 billion VND.

Over the last 10 years, new housing was built in all districts, beginning inthe central part of the city and then moving to the southern area.

In the last four years, activity has moved to the city’s eastern area, whosekey part is the new Thu Thiem urban area.

Currently, about 1,200 housing projects are registered in the city. Of those,500 have been suspended because of land clearance problems. - VNA