Property firms to launch demand stimulus packages

House handover on 50 percent payment of the contract value and interest rate subsidy of 1 percent monthly or even zero percent for 24-60 months so as to facilitate instalment payment and payment extension are among demand incentive programmes of property projects in HCM City recently. A range of such programmes have been recently launched in an attempt to improve the market's liquidity.

Hoang Anh Sai Gon Real Estate Company, for instance, are about to bring the Quang Thai Apartment (Tan Phu District) on the market for the second time with a number of privileges for potential customers this March. Houses will be handed over in September with selling price of 13.5 million dong per square metre to those who have paid 50 percent of the contract value in advance. The remainder could be paid in instalments within two years with zero interest rate. Should 95pct of the contract value be paid at once, 12 percent discount could be available.

Likewise, Le Thanh Company's 100 apartments of 65-70 square metre will be put on sale at 14 million dong per square metre. Accordingly, customers would make 50 percent pre-payment of the contract value in order to be handed over houses and instalment payments for the rest would be made within five years with fixed monthly interest rate of 1pct.

Notably, Becamex TDC has allowed payment extension with a view to woo buyers to Uni Tower project. Potential customers could receive houses in 2012 on payment of merely 4-10pct of the contract value and the rest could be made in 29 instalments within 54 months.

Such movements indicate positive signals for the fight against crisis, which could benefit customers a great deal, according to Huynh Phuoc Nghia, Head of property market research at Global Integration Business Consultants (GIBC).

Current cash scarcity together with troubled liquidity could drive investors away from apartment market. In the meantime, those in desperate need of houses could not afford one particularly in the light of soaring lending rates. "Early house delivery together with instalment payment and interest rates lower than those at commercial banks could expand demand", he said. He reckoned what persuade customers to invest in such apartments include reputable developers, timely implementation of projects, affordable products and appropriate demand stimulus programmes, convenient transport and the like.

The single way out for real estate firms in the light of capital thirst at present could be long-term stable capital attraction, which would adversely hit investors' profits so as to ensure project completion, he said. - Source: VnExpress