The ministry said that the real estate market continues to sit in stagnation from the beginning of this year although lending rates were slashed in an effort to aid the market to overcome the difficult time.

The real estate market is facing a serious housing supply shortage, especially regarding social housing and affordable homes. Transactions were minimal and enterprises could not access credit, causing many projects to be halted.

The construction ministry said that it would focus on removing the difficulties for the real estate market in the remaining months of this year.

Statistics showed that the construction industry grew at 4.74 per cent in the first five months, over the same period last year, higher than the country’s GDP expansion rate. However, the number of real estate businesses saw a drop of 0.82 per cent.

During the past six months, nine social housing projects with a total of 18,768 apartments began construction.

According to the Việt Nam Bank for Social Policies’ report, a sum worth VNĐ6.2 trillion (US$261.9 million) in preferential loans was provided to 15,000 customers to purchase or rent then purchase social homes.

The ministry aims to develop at least one million apartments for low-income earners in the 2021-30 period.

So far, 307 social housing projects have been completed throughout the country with a total of 157,100 apartments and more than 410 projects are under construction.

Notably, the construction ministry submitted the draft amended Law on Housing and Law on Real Estate Business to the National Assembly for discussion at the fifth meeting of the 15th National Assembly.

Director of Hà Nội Department of Construction Võ Nguyên Phong said that it was necessary to quickly improve the institutions for social housing development with the issuance of regulations about the management and use of housing and land funds. It also needs more criteria for old apartment building evaluations and upgrades of the real estate market information system.

Director of HCM City Department of Construction Trần Hoàn Quân said that the Ministry of Construction should provide detailed guidance to remove the difficulties for the real estate projects in the southern city.

Minister of Construction Nguyễn Thanh Nghị said there are a number of problems which must be tackled to promote the development of the real estate market, including inconsistencies and overlaps among legal documents, the lack of transparency which caused confusion, and outdated policies which fail to keep pace with market developments.

Nghị stressed that the focus would be placed on developing the laws regulating the real estate market, including the Law on Urban Development Management, the Law on Urban and Rural Planning, the Law on Housing, and the Law on Real Estate Business. — VNS