HCM City (VNA) – Despite certaindifficulties facing the property market, there remain numerous opportunitiesfor investors to earn money from real estate stocks, according to insiders.

At a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on July 30,Chairman of the HCM City Real Estate Association Le Hoang Chau said it is not arosy picture in the property market. Since March 7, 2017, when the PrimeMinister requested the projects using State-owned land to be reviewed, themarket has faced considerable challenges and difficulties.

In 2017, the real estate market grew 4.07percent from the previous year but began to decline in 2018. 

In the first seven months of 2019, the wholemarket shrank 34 percent in size, including a 29-percent fall in the projectnumber and a 34-percent decrease in the apartment supply. The supply dropped 44percent in the high-end segment and 34 percent in the pocket-sized segment.Meanwhile, there weren’t any low-end property projects opened for sale in thesecond quarter.

Between January and July, the ConstructionDepartment of HCM City submitted only three new projects to the municipalPeople’s Committee for consideration, down over 80 percent. State budgetrevenue from real estate also nosedived more than 60 percent, Chau noted.

He said every cloud has its own silver lining,elaborating that more positive signs will appear in the city’s property marketfrom now to the end of this year, including the implementation of projects inthe eastern and southern areas.

Lai Duc Duong, head of the real estate analysisdivision at the Rong Viet Securities Corporation, said property companiesposted relatively good profits last year. In 2019, most of them have recordedlower profit growth while those with faster growth are small-cap firms.

Regarding real estate stocks, short-terminvestment chances currently focus on businesses with good performance so farthis year. In the long term, investors should pay attention to companies withbig land reserves, he said, adding that there are five to six firms with verybig land reserves for business purposes in the time ahead.

Meanwhile, Director of the KIS VietnamSecurities Corporation Truong Hien Phuong suggested investors pay attention tothe companies with flexible switch to developing segments and stable growth.They should also choose appropriate points of time to buy property stocks sincethe time of purchase is can ensure 50 percent of investors’ success. -VNA