HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The prices of properties with land in Ho Chi Minh Cityincreased by 15 percent in the third quarter from the same period of last yeardue to lack of new supply, according to a report by property consultancy JLL.

The luxury segment saw prices rise by 14.7 percent year-on-year and 3.1 percentquarter-on-quarter to 5,337 USD per square metre.

The second wave of COVID-19 played a strong role in the market, eliminatingshort-term speculators with limited capital from the property market.

Houses with land and costing below 450,000 USD attracted a lot of interest aspeople bought them to lease or for appreciation in value in future.

But those costing more than 450,000 USD did not have much demand.

Licensing issues and credit tightening continued to be the main challenges forthe condominium market.

Buyers have difficulty buying units, not because they cannot afford them, butbecause they cannot find suitable options.

On the other hand, developers are well-positioned to increase profits thanks tothe shortage of existing condo projects in the primary market.

Primary prices will continue to increase due to a lack of supply.

The luxury segment is expected to see prices increase by 10 percent, while thehigh-end and mid-priced segments will see 5 percent increases year-on-year.

The affordable segment will rise by a modest 2 percent.

The secondary market will be more active due to a lack of supply in the primarymarket and new pricing levels across the market.

End-users may find limited options in the primary market and may turn to thesecondary market which offers both completed projects and those with goodconstruction progress.

Around 300-400 units are expected to be launched in the last quarter of 2020, taking thenumber for the full year to 2,500 units, 40 percent lower than in previousyears as the city tightened control over grant of land-use rights andconstruction licences.

With limited supply and high demand, prices in the primary market are likely tokeep rising./.