Expensive HCMC apartments in large supply

More and more luxury and high-end apartment projects have appeared in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s southern economic hub, with prices exceeding VND200 million ($8,400) per square meter in some cases.

Most expensive residential projects are located in District 1 - the central business district (CBD), and Thu Duc city on HCMC’s outskirts. They include Vinhomes Dong Khoi, Grand Marina Saigon, The Marq, Empire City, and Metropole Thu Thiem.

South Korea’s Lotte Group in early September broke ground on its $900 million Lotte Eco Smart City project covering five hectares on Thu Thiem Peninsula. With five basements and 60 surface levels, it will boast a shopping mall, a hotel, office buildings, serviced apartments and a residential complex.

According to some domestic market research firms, it is likely that the prices of these expensive apartments may range from $6,500-8,500 per square meter.

In HCMC, there are many expensive apartment supplies with prices exceeding the VND100 million ($4,220) threshold for one square meter. Figures from property broker Rever show that the city apartment market is home to about 30 projects in the group, mainly in District 1 and Thu Duc city's Thao Dien, Thu Thiem and An Phu wards.

In District 1, these names include Zenity, D1 Mension, Soho Residence, The Grand Manhattan, Lancaster Legacy, IFC One Saigon, Pearl, Vinhomes Dong Khoi, Grand Marina Saigon, Vinhomes Golden River, and The Marq.

Singapore-based CapitaLand’s Zenity covers around 2,950 square meters on Vo Van Kiet Boulevard, offering 198 luxury apartments with forecast sales prices starting from VND154 million ($6,500).

Vietnamese developer Novaland’s 14,000 hectare The Grand Manhattan includes three apartment towers, each with 38 levels, and seven apartments per level. The first round of sales in 2019 recorded prices from VND150 million but current prices are VND220 million ($9,280).

Already-occupied Vinhomes Dong Khoi apartments are currently priced from VND155 million to more than VND250 million ($10,540). Hongkong Land’s The Marq has prices in the range of $6,500-8,000; CapitaLand’s D1 Mension $5,000-6,000; Vinhomes Golden River $6,500-10,000.

Also in the group exceeding VND100 million ($4,220) per square meter, Stella Residence is in District 5, The Horizon in District 7, while The Grand Sentosa is in Nha Be district.

Such projects in Thu Duc include Empire City, The Metropole Thu Thiem, The River Thu Thiem, Eco Smart City, Zeit River Thu Thiem, Sarimi Sala, Sarica Sala, Sarina Sala, Define, Datsinhhomes Riverside, The Global City, Saigon Sports City, Lumiere Riverside, The Albany, The Nassim, D'edge, and Thao Dien Green.

HCMC Department of Construction director Tran Hoang Quan said the city housing market was still developing but not in a balanced manner due to abundant supplies of expensive products.

“A sustainable and balanced market should have budget and social housing products as the largest supply source, followed by the mid-end segment. Meanwhile, the high-end and expensive segment should account for the smallest part,” he said.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HCMC Real Estate Association, said that in 2021, the high-end and expensive segment made up 74% of total supplies, but this ratio went up to 80.13% in the first half of this year, or 7,577 apartments. This number increased by 111.3% year-on-year, he said.

According to market specialists, the city's land fund is limited while legal procedures are often time-consuming, thus investors must make thorough calculations to ensure proper profit margin. A project with huge investment capital naturally has better profits than those with lower investments, and investors are well aware of this.