Ho Chi Minh City

The Vietnamese real estate market is witnessing a burst of activity with interest from both foreign and local investors intensifying. The country’s economy is a highlight within South East Asia and has demonstrated a distinguishing resilience that has allowed for consistent growth despite the fluctuations in the global market. Recovering beautifully from the housing bust of 2009-2013, and aided by both a booming economy and the Vietnamese government’s reformed laws on housing and real estate, which now allow foreign investors to legally own, sell, and transfer property, real estate prices continue to climb, while real estate investors continue to build. The approach has paid off, as foreign investments abound – with 493 new real estate projects slated for 2018.

In the segments of office, residential, and retail real estate, Vietnam has been described as a “rising star” by international assessment firm JLL. According to leading research, the rapid expansion of  Vietnam’s consumer market, in conjunction with an economic shift towards high-value activities, has led to a dramatic influx of foreign capital investment in the office, retail, hotel, and residential sectors, as these areas rush to meet changing demands.

Both domestic and international real estate firms are changing track to attract more buyers by focusing their investments on low to mid-end residential developments. This shift targets the city’s young work force, a market segment that accounts for the majority of the population of Ho Chi Minh City, and the country itself. Reflection of this shift can be found in the building trend in Hanoi turning towards smaller units with a few key criteria. Competitive pricing, ease of accessibility, wide ranging amenities and favourable payment terms are distinguishing the consumer demand for residential real estate. This reflexive market movement is predicted to sustain Ho Chi Minh City’s growth trend of upward mobility.