HANOI, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's social housing completions reached only 48 percent of the annual target in the first nine months, while home prices remained beyond the reach of most people, local media outlet VnExpress reported Tuesday, citing Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc.
At a meeting of the central steering committee on housing policy and the real estate market chaired by Tuc, the Ministry of Construction reported that localities had completed nearly 47,000 social housing units in January-September against an annual target of more than 97,000, while nearly 51,950 housing units and land plots remained unsold nationwide in the third quarter, the report said.
Tuc identified slow social housing development, high housing prices and prolonged project bottlenecks involving legal, land and financial issues as major challenges facing the property market, the report said.
He stressed that localities must remove obstacles to stalled property projects, many of which have been held up by legal, land-related and financial problems, adding that the government is promoting the revision of relevant regulations to address existing shortcomings and facilitate new projects. ■
