Innovating land administration: market perspective in land transaction (Case study in Vietnam)

Modern trend in land administration systems around the world increasingly indicates that the land market is an essential element that allows equitable access to land for all. But research suggests that interventions by the State would be required to ensure efficiency in market operations, and to provide appropriate balancing over market monopolies that allows participants doing their businesses. This paper examines what interventions are desirable and to what extents such interventions would be applicable in land administration particularly in land transaction process.

In order to examine such interventions, this paper discusses the concepts of market and non-market theory as essential elements of land administration. Then a case study in Vietnam is reported with qualitative and quantitave results focussed on the residential market in the capital city Hanoi. Vietnam has been undergoing continuous changes from a command-driven economy to a market-driven economy, and has made significant progress in opening up the real estate market including foreign investments. The study shows that there are large gaps (or differences) between the statutory land prices and maket sale prices. Currently the gap is so large that the market price is almost twice the statutory price. Such gap creates negative impacts on real-estate market causing high land speculation, market distortion and non-transparent in land transaction.

Using theoretical elements and the results of the case study, the paper investigates the roles of interventions i.e. market and non-market activities including land information systems that can be applied in functioning land transaction, and finally it shows how intervention from the state can contribute to the development of real estate market in general and particularly in Vietnam.