Door closes on apartments

TD Group, developer of the 19-storey twin tower TD Plaza complex project, is in difficulties in finding customers for its 75 apartments since this year’s second quarter.   

Other high-end apartment projects in the port city such as the 432 unit Cozyvill and 1,328 unit Tinh Thanh Quoc Te also stopped launches in the third quarter of 2009.

Not only the high-end apartments, but also about 180 of low-end commercial apartments, developed by Haiphong Construction and Urban Development JSC launched below $232,500 per unit faced difficulties in finding the customers.

There are 17 apartment projects in Haiphong up to date. However, most projects in progress of being redesigned their master plans, ground clearance or being delayed after breaking ground ceremonies.

Most developers tried delay their developments and showed their disappointment in the performance of the segment.

Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, general director of Haiphong Construction and Urban Development JSC, said: “Local residents did not want to purchase apartments as land prices in Haiphong was still low.”

Thanh said land plots in prime locations in the city were sold at only $1,842 per square metre, so local residents would rather buy land to construct a house than live in an apartment.

According to Haiphong Real Estate Association statistics, around 54 per cent of total successful property transactions were purchasing empty landplots to construct houses, 37 per cent were trading available townhouses, 10 per cent trading villas and only 1 per cent in successful apartment transactions.

Nguyen Quang Van, director of Van Minh Real Estate Trading Floor in the city, said: “Even there are more than 260 residential projects, ranked the third largest property market in Vietnam, only lower than Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. However, Haiphong’s realty market has developed very slowly. ”

Van said the market seemed isolated and did not depend on credit loans from banks.

However, Nguyen Van Luan, general director of TD Group, said the group would continue its another 352 unit apartment project in Le Hong Phong street as scheduled.