H1 resort real estate sales in Vietnam fall to decade low

Resort real estate sales in Vietnam plummeted 69% year-on-year to 54 units in the first half of this year, reaching a decade low, according to a report by property consultancy firm DKRA Group.

The resort real estate supply hit 60 projects with 2,182 units during the period, down 5% over the year, said the report.

Resort realty prices varied between VND106 billion and VND6 billion ($4.2 million-$237,930) per unit in the northern region, between VND134.4-14.6 billion ($5.33 million-$578,960) in the central region, and between VND155.7-5.2 billion ($6.2 million-$206,210) in the southern region.

Resort real estate supply has been decreasing, accounting for only 6% of the market. In the secondary market, prices have decreased by 15-20% compared to initial contract prices.

In the primary market for resort shophouses, there were 32 projects with a total of 3,066 units in the past six months, up 6% year-on-year. However, only 20 units were sold during this period, down 59%.

Resort shophouse prices ranged between VND34.2 billion and VND4.6 billion ($1.3 million-$182,410) per unit in the northern region, between VND56.7-6 billion ($2.25 million-$578,960) in the central region, and between VND70-5.2 billion ($2.8 million-$230,000) in the southern region.

Supply of resort shophouses has also declined, with over 97% originating from the inventories of older projects. Despite the vibrant tourism industry, the market has been struggling with liquidity issues and limited capacity for price increases.

In terms of condotel, the market logged 45 projects with 7,225 units in H1, up 51% year-on-year, with 2,062 units sold, a 6.8-fold increase.

Condotel prices were set between VND141 million and VND36.6 million ($5,590-$1,450) per square meter in the northern region, between VND180 million-VND42.4 million ($7,140-$1,680) in the central region, and between VND154.5 million-VND55.5 million ($6,130-$2,180) in the southern region.

Primary condotel supply mainly came from inventories of old projects, which made up 66% of the total.

Vo Hong Thang, chief investment officer at DKRA, said that condotel supply in Q3 of this year will likely significantly drop from Q2, slipping to 400-500 units.

Projects will primarily be located in Danang city, Khanh Hoa province in the south-central region, and the northern province of Quang Ninh. Overall demand is anticipated to remain low through the end of 2024, Thang added.

The Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS) projected that the local real estate supply may improve with a modest number of new projects. The dominant supply could be high-rise projects priced under VND5 billion ($198,280) per unit.

Commenting on the resort real estate market, Nguyen Hoang, an industry expert, noted that it will continue to be gloomy in the short term as supply has outstripped demand following a boom in 2025-2020.

Furthermore, many projects have been delayed or stalled, resulting in a loss of customer confidence. Hoang also pointed out that unclear legal issues continue to affect the resort real estate market.