HCM City (VNA) – Trading in real estate stocks has shot up in the la🍬st month, with the volume reaching a total of 1.1 billion shares, a semꩵinar heard in HCM City on July 25.

Dang Tran Hai Dang, Deputy Director of Vietinbank Securities Joint Stock Company’s Research Centre, said this was much higher than sectors like resources (730 million), construction materials (637 million) and food and beverages (385 million). There are 28 real estate companies listed on the HCM Stock Exchange, accounting for 13 percent of its market capitalisation. The prices of real estate stocks have risen by 4.2 percent in the period, compared to 2.61 percent for chemical companies and 2.56 percent for the medical sector, he said. Le Hoang Lan Nhu Ngoc of CBRE Vietnam said the recovery in the property market has made the stocks of real estate companies more attractive. The supply of mid-level apartments surged 33 percent in the second quarter, while that of luxury apartments increased by 18-20 percent, she said. She listed the factors stimulating demand, saying the amendments to the housing law allowing foreigners to buy property has created a euphoria in the market, with 700 foreigners buying houses by the end of the first quarter. The prospects for the economy, especially the real estate market, are good, she said. Some 600 new real estate firms sprang up in the first quarter, an increase of 146 percent year-on-year, she said. The real estate inventory shrank by 26 percent in the first half, she said. Infrastructure development, including metro lines, has created a surge in both supply and demand, especially in the eastern part of the city (along route No. 1), she said. A young population with high marriage and divorce ratios means large demand for housing, she added. Dang said the middle-income segment has seen an increase in demand, accounting for 54 percent of all apartment sales in HCM City in the first quarter. He provided investors with information about ongoing property projects by listed companies, especially projects for middle- income people. Delegates agreed that the mid-level segment would see solid growth in the coming time. The seminar was organised by the HCM Stock Exchange, VietinBank SC, Thu Duc Housing Development Corporation, and CBRE Vietnam.-VNA