Vietnam property market in the hands of large developers: Savills

Throughout this year, the Vietnamese real estate market has only truly been active for large, well-established developers, according to Savills Vietnam.

It elaborated that projects by well-known, reputable developers have attracted the most attention from customers, with impressive amounts of reservations.

A few developers focusing on affordable housing also received interest, while the rest struggled with very low liquidity, even though they have rolled out various promotional policies for the end of the year.

For example, on November 16, Vinhomes officially launched two towers, OS1 and OS5, of The Opus One - considered the most beautiful apartment complex within the Vinhomes Grand Park urban area in Thu Duc city, Ho Chi Minh City.

The project consists of four high-rise apartment towers, each 32-34 floors, developed on over 2.3 hectares. The selling price started from more than VND83 million ($3,300) per square meter. The investor reported that within 24 hours, more than 500 units were sold.

Similarly, at the end of November, the southern real estate market also "boomed" with information about the Eaton Park project by Malaysian developer Gamuda Land and Masteri Grand View by Masterise Homes, both located in Thu Duc city.

These projects saw significant customer interest, with reportedly impressive 2,700 and 4,200 reservations, respectively. Both projects have high selling prices, exceeding VND100 million ($3,960) per sqm.

Previously, several other major developers such as CapitaLand, Phu My Hung, and Son Kim Land had also captured customer attention with similar products.

More recently, the Nobu Residences Danang project by Viet Capital Real Estate launched 264 luxury units in Hanoi, and within a short period, over 82% of them were sold.

Additionally, projects by Phu Dong Group, Bcons, and others in the affordable housing segment have also been well responded by customers, with good transaction volumes in recent times.

Meanwhile, many real estate firms, despite offering incentives and refreshing their products, still faced low liquidity. This reflects the ongoing difficulties in the real estate market, where buyers remain cautious.

More positive but not as expected

Vo Hong Thang, chief investment officer and director of consulting & project development at real estate consultancy DKRA Group, stated that during the first two months of the last quarter, the property market had shown positive recovery.

Both prices and liquidity in the secondary market continued to improve, with transactions focusing on fully legalized projects or those developed by well-known investors, he noted.

In October, the southern market saw 110 projects with a total supply of 12,599 units, and 1,571 units were sold, marking a 93% increase compared to the same period last year.

In November, the primary market had 113 projects offering 13,681 units, up 5.4% year-on-year, with 2,011 units sold, double the number from the previous year.

Thang believed that residential real estate in large, densely populated cities like HCMC and Hanoi will continue to attract market interest, with spillover effects in neighboring provinces. The apartment segment will remain dominant, leading both supply and sales volume across the market.

While the market has seen some positive developments this year, growth has been moderate. More significant recovery is expected around mid-2025 or early 2026, once the current backlogs are thoroughly addressed.

Echoing, real estate expert Nguyen Hoang assessed that the market, especially in the southern region, has become much more positive compared to earlier, although it has not yet met expectations. The optimism is reflected in the improved supply numbers compared to the same period in 2023.

According to him, recently, eight projects in HCMC have had their legal issues cleared, which is a good sign for further projects to follow suit. This will boost demand even as property prices this year have increased compared to last year.

Moreover, the secondary market in the southern hub has shown significant improvement, with more transactions and rising prices since the second quarter. The market is also witnessing many developers launching new products. It is expected that this year, HCMC and surrounding areas will have 20,000-25,000 new apartments offered for sale.

He also noted that the current loan interest rates, which are back to pre-pandemic levels, are contributing significantly to the market's positivity. Additionally, some resort real estate projects have been launched with impressive reservations, signaling a gradual market recovery.

However, Hoang pointed out that the new Land Law, which took effect in August, has yet to exert a tangible impact on the market. This is understandable, as it usually takes about six months for such laws to fully take effect, meaning the real impact will likely be felt in 2025.

Furthermore, the affordable housing segment, which has been frequently mentioned, has yet to show any breakthrough progress. A few projects have been launched, but these are only small-scale developments.

Without significant breakthroughs, the target of one million affordable homes nationwide and hundreds of thousands in HCMC by 2030 seems difficult to achieve, he remarked.

According to Savills Vietnam, the supply of apartments and land-attached real estate in HCMC in 2024 is at its lowest level in the past five years. Most of the projects launched this year are in the mid-range segment or higher, so the sales are less favorable.

The lack of supply, high prices, and new projects priced higher than before have impacted both buyers and sales volume.