A mere three commercial housing projects were licensed for construction in the southern region of Vietnam in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Ministry of Construction.

This is the first time the southern region has seen a scarcity of housing projects in several years.

The region has currently ranked at the bottom in Vietnam in terms of the number of newly-licensed housing projects, number of underway projects and number of completed projects.

Data from the Ministry of Construction indicated that 17 housing projects with a combined 7,190 units were approved for development in the country during the first three months of the year.

Among them, three are located in the southern region, five in central Vietnam, and nine in the northern region.

As a whole, Vietnam reported 14 completed commercial housing projects in the first quarter of 2023, down 50 percent compared to the previous quarter.

Of the total completed projects, the northern region had nine projects and the central region had three.

The southern region accounted for the final two completed project, which boasted a mere 93 completed units.

In terms of under-construction projects, the northern and central regions had 391 and 157, respectively, while the southern region reported just 106.

Statistics gathered by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper showed alarming figures as the total number of completed projects in the southern region was much lower than in the same period in previous years, including during the peak of COVID-19.

In the third quarter of 2021, when Ho Chi Minh City and many southern provinces and cities employed social distancing measures due to the pandemic, the southern region licensed 18 commercial housing projects

During the same period, the northern region granted licenses to 13 new projects.

Multiple obstacles facing property market

The Ministry of Construction said in its report recently sent to the Economic Committee of the National Assembly that real estate firms were encountering several challenges related to legal procedures, funding, and bond issuance.

The obstacles associated with laws on land, especially the pricing policy, have delayed many housing projects.

Over 50 percent of hindrances to housing projects were noted in land pricing, according to the ministry.

Other obstacles included the conversion of land use purposes, equitization, or the conversion of a state-owned company into a public or corporate land, and land handover.

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