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In 2007, the real estate market was so hot that people had to jostle with each other to obtain the option to buy the apartments which were still on paper. In 2008, the market has become so cold that real estate developers have to welcome customers soliciting and offer big discounts.



Le Ngoc Quynh Hoa, a small merchant at the An Dong Market, complained that she has been bothered with the calls from real estate firms in the last month. Hoa related that one month ago, she came to trading floors to seek to buy an apartment, because she did not want to keep cash.

However, as the real estate price has been decreasing, Hoa decided to no longer buy an apartment. But since then, she has been continuously bothered as real estate firms have been calling to offer her to sell apartments.

Real estate developers are now all trying to boost sales by offering large discounts to customers. Binh Chanh Investment and Construction Corporation (BCCI) have launched a promotional program worth VND 15 billion for two projects, Phong Phu 4 and 5, which the price of every apartment plot has decreased by VND 85.7 million. Meanwhile, Sacomreal and Hai Thanh Company, the investors of Phu Loi 1 apartment project, have teamed up with Techcombank to sell apartments with a ‘soft’ interest rate of 0.16% per month for the first year. Customers will enjoy the 5% discount if they do not borrow money.

Prior to that, in the months from May to July, several companies launched many attractive promotional programs. The first seventy clients who pay security money to buy Cotecland-invested Golden House’s apartments could join in lucky draws to win motorbikes and other valuable gifts.

Sacomreal offered trips to China to the customers who buy apartments at My Phuoc 3 project in Binh Duong Province. Dat Xanh Company offered 32 inch LCD TVs and DVD players to those who purchased apartments of My Long Project.

Though commercial banks have slashed lending interest rates and resumed real estate credit, the market has not warmed up yet. Therefore, analysts believe that more promotional programs will be launched, which in turn will force the prices down.

People are now always reminded about the last months of 2007, when people had to jostle down and scramble to get the option to buy The Vista, Sky Garden 3 and Green Review apartments. The situation is quite different now, as a lot of investors now cannot find out the buyers even though they offer to sell apartments at below the cost prices.

Source: VietnamNet

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