Vietnam: a world of opportunities for real estate

IREC 2018 welcomes delegations from 19 nations and territories

This morning, the International Real Estate Conference 2018 was launched in Hanoi with the participation of more than 300 international representatives and nearly 1,000 delegates from the country.

The development of the real estate market in recent years has made positive contributions to the sustainable development of the economy and social security in Vietnam, as well as provided a solid foundations for industrialisation and modernisation.

Minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha said that to perfect the market economy with a deep awareness of the importance of the real estate market, over the past years, the Vietnamese government has made great efforts to build a comprehensive legal framework for the real estate market. In the course of legislative policy development, the government also pays attention to building legal corridors for foreigners to buy and own real estate in Vietnam and to attract international investors.

Despite its novelty, the Vietnamese real estate market has been developing fast, changing urban landscapes, and raising living standards. Particularly, since 1999 Vietnam has developed on average more than 70 million sq.m of housing each year. The country is estimated to have about 2.1 billion sq.m of housing area, bringing per capita housing area from 9.7 sq.m in 1999 to 23.7 sq.m in June 2018.

Urbanisation in Vietnam is quite fast, rising from 21.7 per cent in 1999 to 35.7 per cent in 2017, with the average annual increase of about 0.8 per cent. There are 813 urban areas in the whole country, including two special urban. The average annual growth rate of the urban population is 2-3.4 per cent.

In Vietnam, Hanoi has been one of cities having the highest urbanisation rate. Along with urbanisation, Hanoi has built and developed a synchronous urban space and achieved many successes. Hundreds of spacious new urban areas appeared, along with synchronous infrastructure and transport systems, and these connected areas have made the capitol more civilised and modern.

Hanoi is becoming the largest and most vibrant real estate market in Vietnam. “In the coming time, in addition to the synchronous development of the traffic network, infrastructure, and new urban areas, Hanoi will also rebuild and renovate the inner city and build new development areas to become a city truly worth living in,” noted vice chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen The Hung.

“Accordingly, Hanoi will need a lot of resources and experience for development and will surely become an attractive destination for local and international real estate investors.”

Vietnam hosts IREC for the first time

At the conference, Daniel Kristenblink, US Ambassador in Vietnam, highly appreciated the ties between Vietnam and the US. The US hopes to co-operate with Vietnam to reach its smart city goal. Twenty-six cities from the ten ASEAN countries have been designated to pilot the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, including Danang and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

This is a good opportunity to promote and develop smart cities in Vietnam and the US will provide support to realise these ambitions by developing infrastructure for smart cities. This will be a promising and fair playground for all investors. If legal documents create enough favourable conditions for investors, Vietnam will become prosperous and dynamic economy.

“In the middle and long term, Vietnam will be an attractive destination for real estate investment, as the demand for housing, industrial infrastructure, commercial centres, and resort property in Vietnam is still very promising,” affirmed Nguyen Van Sinh, Deputy Minister of Construction.

IREC 2018 is not only an opportunity to connect, promote investment, exchange experience, and support co-operation between the Vietnamese and international real estate developer communities, but also an opportunity to introduce and promote Vietnam’s development potential.

“This is not only an attractive professional platform for associations, businesses, and experts in the field of real estate, but will also serve as a great diplomatic tool,” Minister Pham Hong Ha affirmed.