Real estate transactions through the floor: Necessary but not "forced"

Whether mandatory or voluntary transactions through future housing product exchanges will be good for customers, businesses and the market is still being considered before the draft Law on Real Estate Business is about to enter the stage of being submitted to the National Assembly .

The important thing is to buy and sell legally.

Most real estate companies in Ho Chi Minh City are connected to trading floors in their business activities. The floor can be established by the investor himself or in joint ventures with partners. Only a few large investors hand over products to trading floors to sell products and accept to share commissions with the floor.

The general director of a large real estate company with many projects being implemented and selling products in Ho Chi Minh City said that investors are aware of the need to conduct transactions through the floor before selling products to the market, especially with products being formed in the future. Therefore, all related procedures to standardize transactions are very important to make the market more stable, healthier, and better for customers.

Brokers offer a real estate project in Ho Chi Minh City Photo: TAN THANH

Supporting trading through the exchange, individual investor Calvin Nguyen said that forcing investors to trade through the exchange for future products for transparency or convenience in tax management is not likely to solve the problem.

Mr. Calvin Nguyen explained: "In reality, there are businesses that sell products through the floor, but risks still occur. There are many cases where products do not meet the conditions but still go through the floor to raise capital or after selling the product, the brokerage company is not responsible, customers still have to work with the investor when encountering risks...".

According to Mr. Calvin Nguyen, it is necessary to have strong measures to deal with the act of buying and selling products without meeting the conditions, buying and selling without notarization, not declaring and paying taxes according to the amount of the transaction. In reality, tax evasion and lack of transparency in the real estate market often occur in individual transactions of individuals, secondary investors... As for investors who are real estate enterprises, when they meet the conditions to open for sale, they have been guaranteed by the bank, registered to sell products at the project with clear details.

Many businesses believe that the trading floors must be "healthy". Mr. Le Huu Nghia, General Director of Le Thanh Real Estate Company, said that in reality, there may be collusion between trading floors and brokers to inflate product prices, causing virtual fever and market disruption. This has happened in the past. Not to mention, many brokerage units and trading floors do not have enough potential, reputation or do not understand the products well.

Guarantee the rights of buyers

Financial economist Dr. Pham Anh Khoi believes that the policy of trading through the floor to improve transparency, responsibility and rights of parties involved in real estate transactions is correct. However, reality shows that most real estate transactions in the UK, Australia, US, Singapore markets... are transacted through professional brokerage units.

Therefore, in Vietnam, instead of legalizing or making it mandatory, we should only encourage real estate transactions through the floor and have a mechanism to ensure the rights of buyers and sellers. At the same time, it will put more responsibility and professional standards on brokerage units to provide accurate and complete information about the product to customers. There are many cases where brokers compete unfairly, advertise real estate at the wrong price, and sell at a "difference" causing damage to home sellers.

In addition, the laws on real estate transactions also need to pay more attention to the rights of buyers in the regulations, because in transactions, buyers are often weaker than sellers or brokers. Countries around the world often have the responsibility to intervene in the market, but they mainly ensure legal rights and information transparency for buyers, not intervene in prices.

To make the market transparent, the Government needs to promote a mechanism requiring relevant state agencies to provide timely and accurate information for people to refer to, from planning diagrams to transaction histories, real asset prices in the most recent past, and even risk factors, products that decrease in value or increase in price.

Payment must be made through a bank account.

Authorized by the Prime Minister, Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi signed the draft Law on Real Estate Business (amended) to submit to the National Assembly. The notable content of this project is the organization and operation of real estate trading floors. Specifically, Clause 1, Article 57 of the draft Law on Real Estate Business (amended) stipulates that "Investors selling, leasing and purchasing houses and construction works to be formed in the future; transferring, leasing, and subleasing land use rights with technical infrastructure in real estate projects must be carried out through real estate trading floors"... Other transactions are encouraged through the floor. At the same time, payment transactions must be made through accounts opened at banks to ensure publicity and transparency.

Dr. TRAN QUANG THANG , Director of Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Economics and Management:

Need many information channels for buyers to refer to

Mandatory trading through the exchange is also a preparation step for the contents related to the law on fees and charges in real estate transactions, expected to be passed in the upcoming National Assembly session. In fact, trading floors need to be transparent, so when trading through the exchange, they must be highly accountable, operate well without bias; ensure compliance with legal regulations, and not contradict the will of superiors...

In addition, it is important for the real estate market to be stable and transparent that buyers have many accurate and transparent information channels to consult. In the process of digital transformation, information must be fast and transparent from state agencies for people to consult, not just access information from brokerage units.

Mr. LE HOANG CHAU , Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA):

Trading through the floor to prevent fraud and "land fever"

The draft proposal requires that the purchase and sale of real estate projects must be carried out through the trading floor, which is reasonable. However, HoREA finds it necessary to add cases where individuals and households conduct their own transactions or cooperate with real estate companies and partners to "divide and sell land" and must conduct transactions through the trading floor in cases where transactions are made with people who are not related by blood, marriage or adopted children, or people who are receiving support according to the law to protect the interests of customers, contributing to preventing fraudulent behavior and "land fever".

In addition, relevant provisions in this draft should also allow investors of real estate projects, commercial housing, and urban areas to register to operate real estate trading floors if they meet the conditions.

Mr. LE HUU NGHI , General Director of Le Thanh Real Estate Company:

The state should intervene with tax tools.

The best, open and reasonable way to intervene, in my opinion, is through tax tools. It is recommended to impose a second real estate tax, personal income tax, but at the right time. In addition, when the Government intervenes in the market through taxes, it can increase or decrease the tax rate depending on the actual market situation, which is better than imposing it through administrative documents.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su/giao-dich-bds-qua-san-can-nhung-dung-buoc-20230408210105012.htm