Vietnam real estate firms go 'all in' at year-end

After a quiet period, real estate businesses are looking to go "all-in" at the end of the year to gain revenue as well as warm up the market, with policies such as increasing discounts and lengthening payment periods.

Difficulties facing the real estate market and businesses are forecast to linger, so to help them get through this difficult time, synchronous solutions are needed.

To stimulate market demand, experts said real estate developers need to lower selling prices and offer incentives such as increasing discounts for quick payments, extending payment deadlines, and applying free management fees for house handovers. They should commit to subleasing houses with attractive interest rates (for example, 12% per year for the first three years after handover) and offer other financial support and legal aid for buyers.

The year-end property market is warming up with a series of stimulus policies from businesses.

Thanh Thao, sales director of Ho Chi Minh City-based Phu Dong Group, said that since the end of 2022, the real estate market has been facing headwinds. However, the segment of apartments priced at VND2-3 billion ($123,760) a unit has still drawn customer interest.

In the third quarter, the real estate market showed signs of recovery and transactions returned. In October, the number of transactions at the group’s Phu Dong Sky Garden project in Di An town, Binh Duong province and previously implemented projects increased significantly, and now more and more customers are showing interest in the projects.

The reason is that the demand for housing often increases at the end of the year, especially for projects about to be handed over.

"At this time, only the housing segments that meet real needs are catching attention, especially projects near the centers of big cities. In terms of investments, customers are still hesitant," Thao said.

Mountain of incentives for home buyers

At Phu Dong Sky Garden, Thao said that the firm has incentives for customers who borrow and do not borrow money from banks. For those who need bank loans, the company supports customers with zero interest rate for the first year and a fixed interest rate of 8% in the next three years.

For customers who do not have to secure a loan from banks, it offers a quick payment plan with a 10% discount. For example, if a customer pays 70% of the apartment value after signing the contract, they will receive a 9% discount.

Another option is to extend the payment period before handover. The customer only needs to pay 40% of the apartment value to take ownership of the house, while the remaining 60% can be paid by 2026. The project is expected to be handed over in June 2024, with prices ranging from VND37-50 million ($1,526-2,060) per square meter.

"Lengthening the payment period helps ease customers' financial burdens and lower installments," Thao said, believing that the year-end real estate market will be better than the first months of the year because most new projects meet real needs.

Similarly, Khang Dien House allows customers to pay only 20% of the apartment value at The Privia project in Binh Tan district, HCMC. They can get a bank loan equivalent to 75% of the apartment value with the repayment period extended to 24 months.

If they pay 70% of the apartment value, they will receive a 10% discount from the developer. Apartments in this project are expected to cost about VND48 million ($1,980) per sqm.

Meanwhile, customers buying Glory Heights apartments in Vinhomes Grand Park, HCMC’s Thu Duc city from Vinhomes only need to pay 1% per month to receive ownership after 2-3 years.

They can access loans worth 70% of the apartment's value with zero interest rate for 24 months. Then the developer will support them with an interest rate of 8% for the next 36 months and 5% for another 25 months. The selling price of apartments in this project ranges from VND38-62 million ($1,870-2,560) per square meter.

Also in Thu Duc city, buyers at the Hybrid building in the MT Eastmark City project also enjoy very good policies. Customers only need to pay 5% of the apartment value (about VND150 million or $6,190) and then another 5% every two months until the amount reaches 30% to receive the house.

Buyers can also access bank loans worth 70% of the apartment's value, with an interest rate of 5% per year for 12 months. The apartments here are priced from about VND42 million ($1,730) per sqm.