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Ho Chi Minh City’s mid-range property market to heat up
Price reductions have helped stimulate the mid-range segment of Ho Chi Minh City’s real estate market in recent months, real estate companies have said.
“With recent housing prices, those who want to buy houses have taken the chance, especially when it comes to apartments that cost less then VND1.5 billion ($86,000),” said Lam Van Chuc, director of Phuc Duc Co. Ltd.
Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) Real Estate Trading Floor Director Pham Van Hai said 133 apartments in Phu My Hung Corporation’s mid-range Riverside Residence project had already sold out since being released to the market earlier this month.
Very few transactions had been reported for luxury apartments, according to ACB Real Estate Joint Stock Company, which said most of its clients were interested in properties in HCMC’s suburban areas, such as District 2, Tan Binh District, Nha Be District and Binh Chanh District.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company has reduced prices for apartments in its Hoang Anh River View and Phu Hoang Anh projects by 40 percent, Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper reported.
The Sunview apartments of the Dat Xanh Real Estate Service and Construction Corporation are currently being offered for $764 per square meter, a reduction of 42 percent on the previous rate.
Real estate investors are shifting their focus to smaller and more affordable apartments to meet the needs of a large number of medium-income earners.
After a dismal 2008, the city’s real estate sector has shown signs of recovery this year after both prices and loan interest rates fell.
Vietnam’s benchmark interest rate is now 7 percent, allowing banks to charge a maximum interest rate of 10.5 percent a year. Most banks are now offering loan interest rates of 7 to 8 percent.
In the capital Hanoi, local real estate investors are also looking at the growing mid-range apartment market, Lao Dong reported.
The Tan Tay Do urban area in western Hanoi, the future home of high-rise office buildings, apartments and villas, is considered one of most promising locations for investors.
Local estate brokers predicted the new home ownership regulations, which allow certain categories of expatriates and foreigners to own property in Vietnam, will further stimulate demand for housing in Vietnam this year.
But despite the positive movements, local brokers also forecast the real estate market will not regain its strength until the end of the third quarter of this year.
Hong Nguyen
vietnews
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