The Ho Chi Minh Department of Natural Resources and Environment has released a list of real estate projects whose properties had been mortgaged by developers and homebuyers as at June 8.
Photo: Duc Anh
The department sent the official list of 77 projects to VET on July 26.
According to the department, this is the first time such a list has been released. In the future it will continue to announce mortgaged projects so that homebuyers have full information and can make informed decisions.
The list includes major investors and projects, such as the Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Joint Stock Company having mortgaged the 6B residential project in Binh Chanh district with BIDV, the IDICO Investment Joint Stock Company mortgaging an apartment building in Binh Thanh district with BIDV, and Himlam Joint Stock Company mortgaging the Himlam Riverside apartment building in District 7 with Eximbank.
Many homebuyers have also mortgaged their apartments with banks, including those at the Masteri project in District 2 of the Thao Dien Investment Joint Stock Company, the Vista project in District 2 of the CapitaLand-Vista Company Limited, and the Phu My Hung project in District 7 of the Phu My Hung Development Corporation.
A representative from Singapore’s CapitaLand confirmed with VET that the Vista project appears on the list. “Bank mortgages are legal because the homebuyer puts their houses up as collateral, not the investors,” she said.
Some developers, however, have violated provisions of the Law on Investment and the Law on Construction by not complying with regulations on collateral, unsecured loans and housing sales, which have affected homebuyers in some projects.
Problems have been seen recently in Ho Chi Minh City’s property market, including at projects such as Harmona and Bay Hien, which have been used as collateral by both the developers and the owners.
Meanwhile, a recent report from the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) revealed that in the second quarter of 2016 market transactions in the condominium for sale segment fell slightly, with affordable apartments now dominating the property market. The market at the beginning of the third quarter has seemed unusually crowded with the emergence of luxury apartments, villas, and townhouses.
According to figures from the CBRE’s second quarter review released in June, the condominium market saw fears of an over-supply as sales volumes could not keep up with new launches. The second quarter witnessed falling sales, at 5,887 units, down 45 per cent against the same period of 2015, while the number of units stood at 10,107.
Approximately 80,000 units are expected to be launched from the second quarter of 2016 onwards. Future supply tends to be concentrated in southern and eastern regions of the city, accounting for nearly 60 per cent of the total future stock, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s June report.
