Hanoi’s Department of Construction will carry out regular inspections over real estate brokerage houses with the aim of heightening their efficiency.

Stricter penalties will be applied to misconduct at real estate brokerage houses (Photo: Lao Dong)

Statistics from a total of 480 brokerage firms across the city showed that around 3,600 transactions were conducted in the first nine months of this year. When these number are compared with the number of brokerage houses, it equals less than 10 completed transactions each over a nine-month period.

The first half of the year was a bit more active than the third quarter; 2,700 transactions took place in the first half, but only about 900 in the third quarter.

Only adding to these problems are gloomy forecasts for the fourth quarter.

Nguyen Quoc Tuan, Deputy Director of the department, said, “The department will coordinate with people’s committees in districts and townships in order to carry out regular inspections of real estate trading floors in order to catch any misconduct while the transactions are taking place. Stricter penalties will also be applied.”

According to Tuan, the urban real estate market is still unstable because of speculation and  price manipulation. The result, he said, is a slowdown in the market in general.

In order to improve the situation, the department has proposed that the municipal government issue clear criteria for real estate-based lending. He added that a fund should be set up to ensure housing for low-income families.