By the end of 2018, the total value of property inventories of 65 real estate firms listed on the stock market reached over VNĐ201.9 trillion. — Photo plo.vn

HCM CITY — Recently released statistics on real estate inventories from the Ministry of Construction (MoC) were incorrect, according to the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA).

The ministry reported the total property inventory value at more than VNĐ22.8 trillion (US$976.2 million) as of December 20, 2018, falling by over VNĐ105.7 trillion (82.24 per cent) against the first quarter of 2013.

However, HoREA chairman Lê Hoàng Châu in a document sent to the ministry on Monday said the report has not taken into account all of inventories at property firms, especially those with high inventories. This could cause a misunderstanding because inventories were actually high and needed special attention from businesses to ensure liquidity and the healthy and stable development of the market.

Châu said in 2012, the association conducted a survey on 45 out of over 1,200 estate projects in the city. But only 36 projects reported their figures while data from the remaining nine were not available. Therefore, the statistics of the ministry did not reflect the reality.

He added the State Security Commission of Vietnam’s data showed that last year, the total value of property inventories of 65 real estate firms listed on the stock market reached over VNĐ201.9 trillion, nine times higher than the numbers reported by the construction ministry.

Meanwhile, some large property firms had yet to list on stock exchanges, so their inventories had yet to be taken into account.

Thanks to the Government's VNĐ30-trillion housing stimulus package launched in 2013, the local property market had returned to its high growth rate, helping reduce inventories, according to HoREA.

HoREA suggested that real estate firms should focus on resolving their inventories and bad debts. They should have solutions to restructure products, targeting market segments which match people’s incomes, recalculating selling prices or even bearing losses to resolve their inventories. — VNS