Fever cools, townhouse, villa segment turns lethargic in major cities

Liquidity in the townhouse and villa segment, once feverishly high in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, has been drying up in recent months.

The supply and consumption of townhouses and villas in HCMC alone saw a marked slowdown in August as compared with July. The selling periods of many projects have been extended, given low deposit rates, according to real estate consultant DKRA Vietnam's latest market report.

Purchasing power in the segment has dropped to the lowest level so far this year following the tightening of bank credit for the real estate sector.

The liquidity in the secondary market has seen a crunch and continues to move sideways. Secondary transactions are limited, mainly focusing on projects with fully-finished houses, the report notes.

Supply and sales in this segment are expected to rise in the last months of this year, but not by much, primarily in the eastern part of the city.

Last month, 66 townhouses and villas were offered for sale in HCMC by two projects, but only four were sold, the lowest tally since the beginning of this year.

The western part, covering Districts 6, 12, Binh Tan, Hoc Mon, Tan Phu, Cu Chi and Binh Chanh, contributed 56 units, of which only two were purchased.

Up to 548 townhouses and villas were put up for sale in April, of which 282 were sold; 59 units were supplied to the market in May, and 23 sold; and 93 of 169 offered were bought in June.

HCMC and its adjacent localities, comprising Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Nai, accommodate nine projects opened for sale. These include two new projects and seven next-phase segments, with a total of 350 units put up for sale. Of these, 78 were purchased. Dong Nai made the lion share with 180 units available, of which 60 were sold.

As noted above, limited access to bank loans has significantly weakened purchasing power with sales reaching just 22% of the supply, of which Dong Nai, a manufacturing hub 90 km from HCMC, accounted for 77%.

Townhouse costs in HCMC range from VND7 billion to VND12 billion ($503,000); and in Dong Nai from from VND5 billion to VND84 billion ($3.52 million).

The prevalent gloom also pervades the segment in Hanoi, with prices remaining high despite a serious dearth of customers.

Data released by Batdongsan.com.vn, a popular real estate site, shows that each unit in Green Villas, invested in by Xuan Cau Holdings in Hanoi’s outskirts district of Thach That, is sold at VND21-34 billion ($880,000-1.42 million), up from VND17-30 billion in 2020.

Each villa in Park City, Ha Dong district costs VND40-70 billion ($1.68-2.93 million), up from VND25-35 billion a year ago.

Villa prices in other capital city projects have increased by 25% and even doubled over three years ago.

A broker who declined to be named said there has been a slump in the townhouse and villa segment, especially with liquidity severaly tightened.

“My company has run a lot of advertisements, but they do not work. Clients only ask for references. Some owners are even willing to offer units at 10% below market price, but still find no takers,” the brokerage said.

Matthew Powell, director of Savills Hanoi, said after constant increases, the prices of villas and townhouses had reached its peak.

Recent market developments show that this segment is slowing down in both price and transaction, and the absorption rate of the market is at a low level, he said.