HCM City needs more incentives for low-priced houses The demand for low-priced housing in HCM City has remained high, but supply is very modest, so more incentives should be given for the sector’s development. The HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA) has proposed mechanisms and policies to facilitate housing projects for low-income earners to the National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs and municipal authorities.    The demand for low-priced housing in HCM City has remained high, but supply is very modest According to HoREA, affordable housing projects faced many difficulties, including capital shortages. To date, and there are no incentives available since the ending of the VND30-trillion (USD1.3 billion) loan package. The association added that HCM City should adjust the planning of infrastructure such as the Linh Trung Export Processing Zone, Quang Trung Software Park or the Vietnam National University-HCM City to increase the land available for low-priced housing projects. Land plots where polluting factories have been removed should be also given to these projects. “HCM City can build 10,000 apartments covering around 30 square metres each and priced at roughly VND200 million (USD9,090) in some areas like Binh Duong Province. However, this can meet a mere 1 percent of market demand,” the association stated. HoREA also recommended using 20 percent of the area of commercial housing projects of 10ha or more for building low-priced houses. The association also suggested that investors can exchange land lots or apartments of equal value at other locations or pay the required 20 percent of land allocation in cash to localities so that they can use the money for separate social housing projects. The association has proposed providing a VND3 trillion (USD136.36 million) loan package of preferential interests for housing projects for low-income earners by 2020 in HCM City. The State Bank of Vietnam’s Circular 36 issued early 2016 restricts credit in the property market, so lending rates have grown.  HoREA said that it would take investors up to two years to complete procedures for building affordable housing projects, which should be shortened. dtinews.vn, TP