HANOI: Three major new laws related to property ownership, recently approved by the National Assembly, are expected to bring about changes to the market, says business insiders and experts.

Insiders have praised the new laws’ effects, which include the 2024 Land Law, the 2023 Real Estate Business Law and the 2023 Housing Law, in directing the market’s structure and its business scale as new regulations aimed at creating a more favourable environment for property developers and their projects alike.

For instance, the new Land Law demands land funds for commercial housing projects acquired through auctions or bidding are only made available for large projects with adequate and synchronised technical and social infrastructure.

The new laws also allow the government to recover lands and put them up for bidding, which typically favours large developers with proven capabilities including financial, technical qualifications and experience.

It will likely generate greater benefits for the public and local communities.

Industry experts said the new laws are also likely to prompt smaller players to merge or adapt to the industry’s higher standards and enhance competitive ability, which, in turn, will improve product quality and service.

Older projects may need to adjust their direction, preferably towards providing social housing units or complying with the new regulations.

Some projects where investors have already accumulated land may need to shift their business direction, possibly transitioning to social housing or adjusting to comply with the new regulations.

Nguyen Van Dinh, vice-president of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, said that the real estate market has grown rapidly in the last two decades.

However, after a period of strong growth, signs of difficulty have emerged since 2018-2019 with one of the primary causes said to include institutional and legal obstacles. Dinh said there were more than 1,200 projects across the country, valued at over US$30bil, awaiting review and inspection.

He said the new laws aim to unify institutional reforms related to land use, avoiding overlaps and conflicts between different laws, which will likely improve land utilisation and enhance the effectiveness of investment activities.

However, Dinh said difficulties are part of the game, and more importantly they act as filters to eliminate businesses with inadequate capacity.

 - ANN