Up-market real estate enjoys buoyant growth

Ho Chi Minh City’s real estate market has seen an upsurge in demand for high-end properties Photo: Le Toan

Managing director of Savills Vietnam Neil MacGregor told VIR that he was witnessing a period of rapid change in the high-end real estate market with a growing number of excellent, international-quality developments set to enter the country throughout 2015. These developments oversee a notable increase in demand for high-end properties during the last two quarters.

Massive projects such as Masteri ThaoDien by ThaoDien Investment, Vinhomes Central Park by Vingroup and Scenic Valley by Phu My Hung Corporation have made this segment more active.

The last tower consisting of 750 apartments in the heart of the Masteri complex was marketed last week. This follows the launch of three other towers from last October.

According to MasteriThaoDien business director Trinh Hoai Duc, the project has more than 3,000 apartments in total with an average sales rate of around 90 per cent.

Meanwhile, Vingroup has recently attracted over 2,300 visitors to the launch of The Landmark complex as the heart of Vinhomes Central Park in the city. The Landmark complex comprises of The Landmark 81, the tallest tower yet in Vietnam, in addition to the three apartment buildings of Landmark 1, 2, and 3.

Phu My Hung will also market the final phase of the Scenic Valley project on June 6. Already in the fifth phase of opening sales, 80.2 per cent of the apartments have been sold.

In addition, several condominium projects developed by Novaland have lured many more customers. Currently, Novaland is building 15 condominiums in prime locations of the city such as The Sun Avenue, The Botanica, Rivergate, Lucky Dragon and Lexington Residence.

“These projects are achieving high absorption rates, especially at recently launched projects, including Estella Heights and MasteriThaoDien, as well as some of the other projects such as Riviera Point and Xi Riverview,” MacGregor commented.

According to Marc Townsend, managing director of CBRE Vietnam, the original prices for high-end projects had witnessed a slight increase. This trend can be attributed to good localities, reputable developers and where progressin construction has been visible.

He said that while recovery continues, high-end apartment sales have bounced back with new launches up 163 per cent year-on-year and sales up 138 per cent year-on-year.

Echoing this view, MacGregor shared with VIR that up-market properties are increasingly attractive to buyers due to the prestige of the developers and also to high standard facilities, higher quality building management and the increasing availability of affordable mortgage financing.

“There have been genuine efforts from developers to deliver projects to international standards, whilst keeping prices comparatively cheap by regional standards. Buyers are also recognising the need for an international standard property management in order to maintain the value of their investment. We are also seeing a growing number of buyers seeking mortgage financing as interest rates come down,” he noted.

When asked about the potential of the high-end market, he stressed that improved infrastructure, particularly in District 2, and changes in the Housing Law will lead to a growing demand from both occupiers and investors, as well as the increasing participation of foreign buyers.