The early entry into force of the Law on Real Estate Business and the Law on Housing will create high pressure in completing detailed guidance documents to ensure quality and progress as required. (Photo: Hai An)

Focus on completing and issuing documents guiding the implementation of the Housing Law.

In the last 6 months of 2024, the Ministry of Construction will focus on completing, submitting to the Government and the Prime Minister for promulgation and promulgating under its authority detailed regulations and instructions for the implementation of the 2023 Housing Law and the 2023 Real Estate Business Law, ensuring quality, progress, and taking effect at the same time as the Law.

In the first 6 months of 2024, the Ministry of Construction issued and implemented the Program for drafting legal documents and projects in 2024, advising on the issuance of documents and projects of the Government and the Prime Minister.

Particularly in the field of housing and real estate market, the Ministry of Construction has advised the Government, the Government submitted to the National Assembly for approval the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Land Law No. 31/2024/QH15, the Housing Law No. 27/2023/QH15, the Real Estate Business Law No. 29/2023/QH15 and the Law on Credit Institutions No. 32/2024/QH15 with the content of amending and supplementing the effective date of these Laws from August 1, 2024. In particular, the Housing Law and the Real Estate Business Law play a very important role, affecting many entities in life.

Putting these laws into effect early will bring many benefits such as creating a supply of social housing and commercial housing, solving housing problems for armed forces, renovating old apartments, etc.

However, the early entry into force of the Law on Real Estate Business and the Law on Housing will also create high pressure in completing detailed guidance documents to ensure quality and progress as required.

To implement the above tasks, in the first 6 months of this year, the Ministry of Construction submitted to the Government and the Prime Minister for consideration 5 Decrees and 1 Decision detailing the implementation of the 2023 Housing Law and the 2023 Real Estate Business Law. The draft Decrees have all been consulted by Government members. After that, the Ministry of Construction has studied, received and explained the opinions to complete the draft Decrees, reported to the Government for consideration and promulgation.

In addition, the Ministry also continues to complete the draft Circular detailing a number of articles of the Housing Law, the draft Circular guiding the framework program for training and fostering knowledge of real estate brokerage practice and real estate trading floor management.

From now until the end of the year, the Ministry of Construction will continue to promote the implementation of assigned tasks in the Program for drafting legal documents and projects of the Ministry of Construction in 2024 according to the required schedule.

In particular, Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi emphasized the priority task of completing, submitting to the Government and the Prime Minister for promulgation and promulgating under his authority detailed regulations and instructions for the implementation of the 2023 Housing Law and the 2023 Real Estate Business Law, ensuring quality, progress, and taking effect at the same time as the Law.

In addition, the Ministry of Construction is also responsible for focusing on monitoring the implementation of Decrees, Decisions, and Circulars detailing and guiding the implementation of the 2023 Housing Law and the 2023 Real Estate Business Law after these documents are issued.

For localities, Director of the Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management Hoang Hai requested the People's Committees and People's Councils of provinces and cities, according to their authority, to study and issue documents guiding the implementation of the Housing Law in July 2024. This will help synchronize the system of legal documents on housing from the central to local levels. In addition, localities also need to coordinate with units under the Ministry of Construction to increase the dissemination of legal regulations on housing to organizations, people and businesses.

Prices of luxury apartments and land in Ho Chi Minh City doubled after 8 years

On July 12, at the National Assembly's thematic supervision session at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on "Implementation of policies and laws on real estate market management and social housing development from 2015 to 2023", Mr. Huynh Thanh Khiet - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction said that economic growth in the period of 2015-2019 has created opportunities for the real estate market to develop, attracting domestic and foreign investors.

In addition to the boom in real estate projects, the market is currently lacking in affordable housing supply, leading to high housing prices. In the period of 2020-2022, real estate business activities were heavily affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. It was not until the end of 2023 that the market showed positive signs.

According to Mr. Khiet, from 2015 to now, the contribution of real estate business activities to Ho Chi Minh City's GRDP has been decreasing. In 2015, real estate business contributed 4.73% of GRDP, by 2019 it decreased to 4.27% and by 2023 it will only be 3.56%.

Regarding market price developments, the Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction said that in the period 2015-2023, apartment prices increased by an average of 15-20% per year.

For affordable apartments, if in 2015 the selling price fluctuated from 25-35 million VND/m2, by 2023 it had increased from 40-60 million VND/m2. Mid-range apartments increased from 35-50 million VND/m2 to 50-70 million VND/m2. The high-end apartment segment increased the most, from 50 million VND/m2 to 70-100 million VND/m2.

Statistics show that by 2023, apartment prices in the central area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City will range from 80-200 million VND/m2. Apartment prices in the suburbs will range from 30-60 million VND/m2.

Similar to luxury apartments, land prices in Ho Chi Minh City have also increased "dizzily", from 50-150 million VND/m2 in 2015 to 100-300 million VND/m2 by 2023.

For townhouses, the price increase in the period 2015-2023 is lower than that of apartments, specifically 10-15%/year.

Mr. Huynh Thanh Khiet assessed that in recent years, the supply of housing in Ho Chi Minh City has been scarce, not meeting the needs of the people. Currently, each year there are 200,000 more people in need of buying housing. Meanwhile, housing prices are constantly increasing, concentrated in the middle and high-end segments. This leads to low-income earners and workers increasingly having difficulty accessing housing.

Remove 12 projects from the list of land use rights auctions

Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee has just issued a Decision to adjust, remove and supplement the list of land use rights auction projects in 2024.

Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee added 168 projects (MB) after removing 12 projects from the land use rights auction plan in 2024. (Illustration photo - Source: Construction Newspaper)

Accordingly, the auction area is adjusted according to the approved planning area and transferred to resettlement arrangement according to the policy of the Provincial People's Committee for 14 projects: Yen Trach residential and resettlement area, Quang Chau ward, Sam Son city; technical infrastructure of Trung Chinh new residential area, Hai Hoa ward and technical infrastructure of Dong Tien and Phu Minh residential areas, Binh Minh ward, Nghi Son town... belonging to 8 units. Including: Thanh Hoa Land Fund Development Center, Sam Son city, Nghi Son town and districts: Thieu Hoa, Quang Xuong, Nhu Thanh, Nga Son, Nong Cong.

Eliminate 12 projects (MBQH) with an area of ​​34.7 hectares (estimated revenue of 162.5 billion VND) including: Land with commercial land function in MBQH resettlement area Xuan Phuong 3 (area 1) in Quang Chau ward; Residential area, resettlement Dong Nhe, Dong Binh, Dong Ao, Quang Minh commune, Sam Son city; MBQH No. 2742 dated August 13, 2020 - Toan Tan resettlement (Resettlement and land exploitation point of Toan Tan residential area, Rung Thong town, Dong Son district) and Resettlement area of ​​main road of Rung Thong town (OM15-OM16) (Toan Tan resettlement), Dong Son district.

In addition, Nhu Thanh district has 5 projects, Ha Trung, Thieu Hoa, Nga Son districts each have 1 project. The reason is: Project overlap and not ensuring the time to complete land clearance, infrastructure investment and other conditions to conduct the auction in 2024.

Adding 168 projects, planning land area of ​​455.61ha, auction area of ​​235.23ha, expected to collect nearly 4,600 billion VND (after deducting site clearance, technical infrastructure investment, collected about more than 2,600 billion VND). Of which, Thanh Hoa city has 17 projects including: Commercial center land area with code TM2 according to the zoning plan at scale 1/2000 of the urban area in the South of Thanh Hoa city; technical infrastructure of the residential area, resettlement of households outside the left dike of Ma river, Tao Xuyen ward, Thanh Hoa city (MBQH No. 17500/QD -UBND dated October 7, 2016); Residential area serving flood victims in Thieu Duong ward, Thanh Hoa city (MBQH No. 8535/UBND - QLDT dated September 21, 2015); Technical infrastructure of residential areas, resettlement of Hoang Dai commune (MBQH No. 3483/QD - UBND dated May 20, 2021); Interstitial land on Lo Chum Street, Truong Thi Ward (MBQH 7404/QD - UBND dated July 24, 2017); interstitial land fund in Dong Hai Ward (MBQH 11187/QD - UBND dated November 2, 2022, adjusted from MBQH No. 1792 dated February 21, 2022)... and some districts of Hoang Hoa, Nong Cong, Trieu Son, Ha Trung, Tho Xuan.

Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee requires relevant units to organize the construction of starting prices for land use rights auctions to ensure legal regulations, close to market prices, in order to attract auction participants and organize auctions effectively, bringing the highest revenue to the state budget. Select projects (sites) that have met all the conditions prescribed by law, have the ability to successfully auction, and have appropriate project scale to focus on implementing auctions first.

Closely monitor the organization of land use rights auctions under its management to ensure compliance with the law, publicity and transparency; promptly detect and strictly handle violations of legal regulations in land auctions, and prevent acts of taking advantage of auctions to disrupt the market and make profits. Select auction organizers with good experience and capacity and the organization of auctions must be strict, public, transparent and in accordance with current legal regulations.

Conditions for mini apartments to be granted pink books from August 1

According to the provisions of the Housing Law 2023, effective from August 1, mini apartments will be granted a certificate (pink book) if they meet the conditions.

Article 57 of the 2023 Housing Law regulates the development of multi-storey houses with many individual apartments (also known as mini apartments) for sale, lease-purchase, or rent.

Accordingly, individuals who want to build mini apartments (houses with 2 or more floors, each floor has apartments, or 2 or more floors and a scale of 20 apartments or more) for sale or rent must meet the conditions to be an investor in a housing construction project.

Apartments that are eligible for a certificate under the land law (pink book) can be sold, leased, or leased under the provisions of this law and the law on real estate business.

In addition, investing in mini apartments for rent must meet construction requirements issued by the Minister of Construction. The building must meet fire prevention and fighting (PCCC) requirements according to the provisions of law.

In addition, it is necessary to meet the conditions prescribed by the Provincial People's Committee on traffic routes for fire fighting vehicles to perform fire fighting tasks at places with mini apartments.

From a legal perspective, regulations on the development of mini apartments and the granting of certificates for this type of building have been revised to be more stringent than before.

Mr. Pham Duc Toan, General Director of EZ Real Estate Investment and Development JSC (EZ Property), assessed that the regulation that mini apartments are granted pink books in the 2023 Housing Law will have a positive impact on the psychology of many people who are using apartments with the desire that their property is recognized by law.

According to Mr. Toan, the regulation that individuals who want to build mini apartments must meet the conditions of being the investor of a housing construction project has tightened management of this type of investment like the construction of commercial apartments. Along with that, the requirements on fire prevention and fighting... will solve previous shortcomings.

However, according to Mr. Toan, there needs to be strict management by management agencies. Because, if not well managed, it can create the first wave of mini apartments, causing distortions for this type of real estate.

According to preliminary statistics, the country currently has about 10,000 mini apartments, mainly concentrated in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.