Real estate sales by banks in a bid to
recover bad debts were flooding property brokerage centres, with prices much
lower than general price levels on the market, online newspaper vnexpress.net
reported.
Tran
Trung Dung, director of a property transaction floor in Ha Noi's My Dinh
district, told the news website that 65 per cent of apartment blocks and lands
registered for trading at his floor were consigned by banks, and the volume of
these properties had quadrupled over the level from the same period last year.
Dung
said most of the owners of these properties were investors who bought the
assets last year and now couldn't cover bank loans.
The
director of a joint stock bank in Ha Noi said the increase in banks moving to
sell real estate was normal in recent years as the market was sluggish and
banks concentrated on dealing with bad debts.
The
director of another bank said banks were forced to take action as their debtors
did not co-operate with them or they couldn't settle the debts themselves.
Borrowers
would be put at the greatest disadvantage as there were some properties that
have seen their prices cut by half from up to VND10 billion (US$480,800) last year,
he said.
Chu
Tuan, a bank worker in charge of property sales at a local bank, reportedly
said his bank was advertising six land lots and a house in Ha Noi's Ha Dong,
Dong Anh, Gia Lam and Hoang Mai districts with prices ranging between VND8
million ($385) and VND36 million ($1,730) per sq.m.
These
prices were about VND2-8 million cheaper than current market levels and still
negotiable, he said.
Nguyen
Van Duc from the Sozo Co was quoted by vnexpress.net as saying he was selling
three land lots for the Viet Nam International Commercial Joint Stock Bankin
Dong Anh with a price of VND14 million ($673) per sq.m, a rate he said was only
70 per cent of market prices.
Thanh
Nien (Young People) newspaper also reported similar cases in HCM City and the
southern city of Vung Tau.
The
director of a commercial bank's branch in Vung Tau said prices of property sold
by his bank were usually 10-20 per cent lower than market prices, it reported.
The
bank was advertising a coastal villa at VND15 billion ($721,000), about VND2
billion ($96,150) cheaper than similar villas on the market, the director said.
Despite
cheap prices offered by banks, Duc said, trading was slow and most of his
business was in helping banks sell small land lots with an area of about 50
sq.m.
"Although
mortgage assets are clearly registered to specific owners with sufficient
ownership certificates, few clients were buying due to a sluggish market,"
Dung said.
Trinh
Cam Binh, a lawyer at the Bien Dong Law Firm, said many clients were interested
in cheap real estate, but they were likely to face high risks in buying
property offered by banks, as the assets were often the source of ongoing
disputes between banks and their debtors.
"This
is one of the reasons that makes property sales by banks slow despite the low
prices," he said.
Dang
Hung Vo, a senior consultant at the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment, said that with current market conditions, banks should in fact
reduce prices to enable those who truly have a demand for accommodation to buy
property. "Banks' moves to sell property now face a generally gloomy
market, and it won't be until at least the end of the year when the market improves
and it becomes easier to sell these assets," Vo said.
VNS
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment