Number of high-end developments to grow

At a recent conference about breakthroughs in living standards co-organised by the economic and financial news website cafef.vn and the Vietnam Real Estate Association in Hanoi, experts said that home buyers were now more demanding, driven by improved income as the economy was on the recovery path.

The General Statistics Office revealed that the Southeast Asian country’s economic growth reached 3.68% in 2015 with GDP per capita at VND45.7 million (US$2,109) – US$57 higher than 2014.

The report "Vietnam 2035: Toward Prosperity, Creativity, Equity and Democracy" was launched in February by the Vietnamese Government and the World Bank.

The World Bank said the country would have the opportunity to achieve upper-middle-income status by 2035, given its goal of an average of 7% economic growth per year. Accordingly, GDP per capita per year would reach a minimum of US$18,000 by 2035.

The association’s chairman Nguyen Tran Nam said that living environment and amenities became decisive factors for purchase decisions rather than price as previously.

“The recent crisis of the realty market helps buyers hold the upper hand,” Nam said.

He added that the protracted stagnation eliminated developers that had weak capacity and forced those remaining to meet home-seekers’ demands, which would benefit buyers.

“We, home-seekers, now have abundant choices,” said Trinh Hao, who came from Hai Phong to work as an engineer in Hanoi. “I prefer locations with good connectivity, plenty of green space for walking and fresh air, schools for kids and supermarkets. This will make life more enjoyable as people become more and more busy."

According to Tran Ngoc Chinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, urban living quality must be improved with high-quality planning focusing on technical and social infrastructure as well as green space density amid the country’s rapid urbanisation.

“Developing property projects with green living environments coupled with comfortable amenities appears to be an indispensable trend,” Chinh said, adding that many property developments in Hanoi and HCM City were following the trend such as Times City, Ecopark, Ciputra and Phu My Hung.

The trend would be set towards smart, green and sustainable urban development with environmentally-friendly designs, modern amenities and energy-savings, Chinh said.

Le Khac Hiep, Deputy Chairman of Vingroup, developer of Vinhomes housing projects, said that the development of townships which integrated green space, technical infrastructure and social amenities were changing the face of Vietnamese urban development and driving the realty market towards enhancing living quality for citizens.

In a recent report, property service firm CBRE Vietnam said luxury and mid-level apartments were dominating the market in the first quarter of this year with shares of 48% and 36%, respectively.

The real estate market, since entering a recovery period last year, saw many new property developments offering not only quality living standards, but also investment opportunities, like condotels, shophouses and resort townhouses and villas.

Experts said at the conference that macroeconomic stability was making real estate an attractive investment compared to gold or foreign currencies, and many property developers were grasping that opportunity.