Vietnam PropTech Summit: reasons to be optimistic in 2024

The summit attracted more than 20 speakers and over 150 professionals from the real estate and technology industry.

The conference, co-hosted by PropTech Vietnam Network and FinHome.com, in partnership with Crystal Waters Global, Purple Home, provided an insightful picture of the trends in the real estate market.

Prominent figures in the sector, such as Dao Nguyen, founding partner from DN Legal, Cosimo Jencks, former representative of Hong Kong Land, and Nhan Vo, CEO of Empire City, co-founder and CEO of Gaw NP Capital, chairman of VNG, provided consultation.

Sustainable investment and development have become essential factors, especially in the current state of the green financial market in Vietnam. With best practices and lessons learned from other countries around the world, esteemed panellists offered their outlook and recommendations to harness the full potential of green investments in Vietnam.

Experts from Gaw Capital, Savills APAC, and Solano Energy discussed the current status of the green finance market in Vietnam, methods and lessons from countries, and the prospects for the future.

In its latest report published in November, Savills World Research stated that global investors are paying more attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. More than 85 per cent of the fastest-growing businesses in Vietnam have made ESG commitments, which has helped to fuel the soaring demand for offices that meet green standards.

In an ever-changing landscape, different factors are affecting the working and living model in Vietnam. Experts from Cho Tot, Avison Young Vietnam, Frasers Property Vietnam, The Sentry, and M Village discussed the changes to working patterns and the necessary skills to adapt, covering coworking, traditional offices, and coliving.

Meanwhile, speakers from KCN Vietnam, ABA Cooltrans, Knight Frank Vietnam, and DN Legal discussed industrial property.

The industrial real estate market continues to look positive. According to data from Knight Frank Vietnam, the occupancy rate in industrial parks has reached 78 per cent in the suburban area of Hanoi and 92 per cent in Ho Chi Minh City.

Alex Crane, managing director of Knight Frank Vietnam, said that the ready-built factory and warehouse market has been attracting strong foreign investment since 2018, with the number of investors rising five-fold.

"The challenges arising from this boom, especially in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City where the supply of ready-built warehouses has reached 2.1 million square metres, have contributed to creating a new market. It now favours tenants, with an average rental price of about $4.50 per sq.m per month in the south and $4.70 per sq.m per month in the north," said Crane.

Technology and finance have been changing the real estate industry across all project stages.

Speaking at the Summit, Nhan Vo, CEO of Empire City, Co-founder and CEO of Gaw NP Capital, Chairman of VNG commented that moving to 2024, because the heavy interest rate environment, opportunities on asset light operating and management, opportunities for creative products-repositioning and private credit plays from non-bank lenders will be seen.

Besides this, people will work harder with creativity. Generative AI revolution will increase real estate needs while shorter work weeks leading to extra leisure time, such as a three-day weekend, Nhan said.

Representatives from CBRE Vietnam, Dynam Capital, batdongsan.com.vn, Crystal Waters Global, discussed the obstacles and their solutions, Vietnam’s potential, and how the country’s real estate market can thrive.

Hang Dang, managing director of CBRE Vietnam said, "By 2024, the market will improve further thanks to new housing and real estate business laws that have been approved."

Duong Bach, country manager for batdongsan.com.vn, said that the secondary market had seen a significant increase in the number of real estate searches from consumers.

“Through our big data, we see that the market has many opportunities to recover soon because demand is still very high,” Duong said. “Houses and apartments will recover first in the second half of next year, while hospitality and holiday homes will take a little longer."

According to Duong, although the real estate industry is facing difficulties, the market potential is huge because people's needs are ever present.

"We see the need to expand our portfolio into the Vietnamese market for foreign investors, especially those from Asia, through mergers and acquisitions,” he added. "Difficulties also create motivation for investors to flexibly adapt and structure their businesses and products to suit the new context. This is an opportunity for proptech to improve and enhance its role as it makes greater contributions to Vietnam's real estate industry."

Sound business strategy crucial for proptech players The property market is facing numerous hurdles, and Propzy’s failure makes it difficult for the proptech ecosystem to improve.

The tough proptech proposition ahead Compared to just a few years ago, the Vietnamese proptech market is now more vibrant, diverse in both quality and quantity with the participation of many different brands. But while the playground is now occupied both by traditional real estate businesses and tech companies, the risks are still apparent.

Some way to go for proptech to hit home The real estate technology sector in Vietnam is still struggling to find a way to survive despite being recognised as a huge potential market, with nearly 40 companies ceasing operations in the first five months of the year.

PropTech Vietnam Summit 2023: Real estate and the future of investing PropTech Vietnam Network is thrilled to announce the second Annual Vietnam PropTech Summit 2023 will take place at The Experience Centre, Empire City, Thu Thiem New Urban Area, Ho Chi Minh City on December 14.