HCM CITY – HCM CITY has decided to continue auctioning 14,000 vacant apartments at resettlement sites following the successful sale of 200 in Phú Mỹ in District 7.

Phạm Văn Sỹ, director of the Property Auction Service Centre at the Department of Justice, said Đức Khải Company was the main developer of the Phú Mỹ project.

It was completed in 2014 with over 1,000 units. The city earmarked 270 apartments for moving in people affected by public projects.

The successful auction of 200 apartments fetched VNĐ224 billion (US$9.6 million) for three companies, Đức Khải, Thịnh Phát Company and another company from the southern province of Long An.

The city plans to next auction 3,790 apartments in the Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area in District 2, Sỹ said.

Earlier, in February this year, they had once gone under the hammer at VNĐ9.1 trillion ($392 million) but attracted no bidders, but would now have a reserve price of VNĐ9.936 trillion ($428 million), he said.

After this, the city plans to sell another 1,000 apartments in Bình Chánh District’s Vĩnh Lộc B Commune in a project unsold for years.

The department said policy changes and failure to accurately determine demand have resulted in so many unsold apartments.

The large sums involved have made many firms reluctant to participate in the auction, it added.

To address this problem, the construction department has urged the city People’s Committee to use public funds to buy some of the apartments and redesignate some of the resettlement apartments as commercial apartments to encourage firms to buy them.

Property analysts have said it is necessary to change certain policies related to financial conditions and deposits to attract buyers. – VNS