A corner of Phu My Hung urban area in HCM City (Source: VNA) In its latest report on the real estate market in the second half of 2017, theassociation said there would be a switch from high-end projects to mid- andlow-end segments to meet demand from people with lower incomes.
The emphasis on the low- to mid-end market segment began early this year, thereport said.
Thirty-two new housing projects were approved in the first half of the yearwith a total of 16,505 apartments. Of these, more than 68 percent were in themid- and low-end market.
“This is a good sign because developers are re-structuring their products todevelop apartments with one or two bedrooms to meet the huge demand of peoplewith lower incomes,” said Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the association.
The association said that in the last half of the year, cooperation amongdevelopers would be more common as the development trend continues.
Merger and acquisition activities are also expected to increase as the NationalAssembly’s resolution to reduce bad debt becomes effective in mid-August.
The market is expected to become more stable and transparent when new policiesrelated to tax, credit, planning and administrative procedures becomeeffective.
The association said that investment flows would come mostly from foreigninvestors and overseas remittances.
Chau said that in the first half of the year, 20 percent of 2.1 billion USD inoverseas remittances was poured into real estate.
Nearly 13 percent of foreign direct investment (FDI) was invested in the realestate market, equivalent to 50.3 million USD.
“FDI to the sector in the last six months of the year will surge because manycontracts to develop property are under negotiation,” he said.
Chau said that infrastructure upgrades, including metro lines and rapid busroutes, would create advantageous conditions for companies to develop in themid- and long-term.
Developers are expected to focus on projects friendly to the environment tomeet the demand of consumers who want modern technologies, including theinternet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence, he added.
In the first half of this year, the city developed 1.92 million sq.m ofhousing.
During the period, the city continued to upgrade housing, and targetedrebuilding 50 per cent of 474 old apartment buildings until 2020.
As of the end of last year, the city had 13,220 real estate companies.
In the first half of the year, one-third of 18,000 new companies established inthe city were real estate companies, with most of them providing real estateservices.-VNA
VNA
