Powerful real estate developers believe they should buy land plots when the market is cool and land prices are reasonable.

One of the biggest topics of discussion at shareholders’ meetings of real estate firms held in April and May was the expansion of land funds.

Shareholders agree that more land should be bought to be able to launch finished products when the pandemic is over and the market heats up.

Nam Long Investment JSC, which owns 680 hectares of land, is one of the real estate firms with the largest land fund. However, it is still expanding by spending VND2 trillion a year to buy more land.

The real estate market has not recovered well after COVID-19, but property firms are now in a position to buy land plots at reasonable prices.

Nam Long’s president Nguyen Xuan Quang said at the meeting with investors in mid-June that the firm is gathering strength to enlarge the land fund, targeting large land plots in satellite localities in HCM City and Hanoi.

“It is now the golden time for us to implement the expansion plan,” he said.

“Because of Covid-19, many real estate firms have land but cannot implement their projects as they lack financial capability. Therefore, they have to sell the land and it will be easier to negotiate with them,” Quang said.

The board of management of An Gia Investment JSC at the recent 2020 shareholders’ meeting said An Gia would allocate a budget of VND5 trillion to expand the land fund. The firm will pay more to acquire land plots with "legitimacy", which will accelerate the implementation of projects.

“In 2019, we spent VND2.8 trillion to buy land plots in localities around HCM City. The figure will be higher this year to take full advantage of the current golden opportunities,” said An Gia’s president Nguyen Ba Sang.

Acquiring more land is also one of the to-do things listed in Thuduc House’s annual report.

Low-rise buildings, apartments, and office-shopping mall complexes are the major products of Thuduc House, and HCM City is its major market. However, the firm is also seeking to develop projects in neighboring provinces, including Can Tho, Binh Duong and Ba Ria – Vung Tau.

In general, it targets small- and medium-scale land plots (1-10 hectares) to develop housing projects at reasonable costs.

Mai Lan 

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