THE housing market has remained depressed in 2004, industry sources said last week, with attractive payment options failing to attract buyers.

Although low cost apartments are selling well in Yangon, overall, housing offered by the Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development has seen stagnant sales – in Hlaing Tharyar, Dagon Myothit East and Kyauktan townships – despite the availability of an installment payment plan.

Only half of the apartments and houses in these developments have been sold, U Myint Swe, deputy director of DHSHD, said last Tuesday.

“Compared with sales of apartments in the past four years, the market is stagnant. Four years ago, we could sell over 1500 apartments within a short period of time without any difficulty. Now, even after the projects are completed, sales are slow,” said an official from the marketing division of DHSHD.

Sales of private sector housing – usually costing between K27 million to 70m compared to between K5m and 23m for DHSHD housing – have been even more depressed this year.

Asia Express Company Ltd began selling apartments in the first phase of its Diamond Condominium development on Pyay Road in January 2003. So far 60 per cent of the apartments have been sold, priced from K27m to K40m. But, for the second phase – which went on sale at the end of last year – none of the 150 apartments have been sold, according to U Maung Maung, managing director of Asia Express Company.

“For the time being, apartment sales are depressed – customers want to buy apartments after the project is completed,” said U Maung Maung, adding that building on the second phase started in December 2003.

A marketing representative at Pyay Garden Condominium agreed that sales of apartments built in the private sector have been slow.

According to developers, buyers prefer to purchase property after building is complete. But, developers prefer to sell before building begins to finance completion of projects, says U Sai Long, manager of V-Pile Myanmar Company Ltd.

The company, which is developing Evergreen Condominium on Pun Hlaing Golf Estate in Hlaing Tharyar township, is now waiting to sell apartments before work begins on the next stage of the project.

Evidence of a major depression in the property sector is no more apparent than in the real estate industry, where many agents are struggling to sell or lease even one apartment a month, in some cases, since February 2003.

“Before February 2003, we would sell or rent out about 15 properties a month, but since Feb 2003, this figure has decreased dramatically. Now we are struggling to sell one or two apartments a month because people are worried the price will go down,” said U Kyaw Swar, marketing manager of Unity Real Estate Agent.