The real estate market has become gloomy in Ho Chi Minh City because apartment owners who have yet to be issued with ‘house ownership certificates’ are not allowed to sell their apartments.
According to the Government’s new circular issued on September 1, as for apartments that property investors have handed over to buyers, the buyers are not allowed to re-sell them until they are issued with a ‘house ownership certificate’.
Due to the new circular, selling apartments has come to a standstill since early September. Some reality agents have had to close or change their businesses.
Ngo Quang Phuc, sales manager of Him Lam Land and Real Estate Trading Company, said when construction of the apartment building is finished, property investors then begin to hand over the apartments to the buyers.
Then the buyers would pay 95 percent of the apartment’s value.
The buyers will pay the remaining cost, when the investor completes the application of house ownership certificate, he added.
Mr. Phuc said it usually takes about two to four years to have the certificate issued since apartments are handed over to buyers.
A director from a real estate company has complained that the regulation is too unreasonable.
Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the city’s Real Estate Association, said his association will report difficulties in trading these apartments to relevant agencies.
However, he partly blamed property investors for the late issuance of house ownership certificates.
He said investors only care about the building of the apartments. They do not complete the construction of social and technical infrastructure. Therefore, relevant agencies cannot issue the certificates.
