Beautiful premises are still difficult to find customers
In the last days of August, along Nguyen Trai, Hai Ba Trung, 3 Thang 2 streets..., it is not difficult to see houses with closed front doors, with signs "lease premises", "rent whole units" hanging in front. Some locations that used to do fashion, cosmetics, and food business are now vacant, with fronts showing signs of degradation after a long time of not being used.
On Nguyen Trai street, one of the streets concentrating many fashion, retail and service stores, many premises are constantly changing tenants. This store closed, and not long after, a new rental sign appeared. On Hai Ba Trung street, a similar situation also appeared in some locations with large areas.
3 Thang 2 Street is also not outside the trend. Spacious premises with convenient locations and large areas, once an advantage to open showrooms, fashion stores or restaurants, now become a cost that business people have to consider carefully.
Not only tenants are cautious, but land owners are also under pressure as the vacancy period is prolonged. Ms. Ha Anh, owner of a land plot on Nguyen Trai street, said that her family's land plot has been vacant for many months.
Renters still have them, but mainly ask for prices, survey many places before deciding. Some cases propose to reduce prices or subdivide the area to reduce costs, but in the end, they still do not finalize the rent" - Ms. Anh said.
Street front" is no longer an absolute advantage
According to Mr. Dang Minh Phuc - a broker specializing in renting premises in the central area of Ho Chi Minh City, the market still has demand, but tenants have changed their calculations.
They are not only interested in where the premises are located but also calculate whether revenue is enough to compensate for rent or not. Large-area, high-priced apartments are very difficult to find customers if the industry is not strong enough to generate revenue" - Mr. Phuc said.
This reality makes the gap between the price that homeowners expect and the affordability of tenants increasingly clear. Some landlords have to extend the time to find customers, while those who agree to adjust prices, be flexible in area or lease term are more likely to find customers faster.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Le Thi Huyen Trang - General Director of JLL Vietnam, said that according to JLL's data in Q2/2026, the overall vacancy rate at key shopping centers in Ho Chi Minh City was 4.4%, a slight increase compared to the previous quarter.
However, when divided by region, the market has differences. The vacancy rate in the central area decreased by 0.3 percentage points quarter-on-quarter, down to 8.1%, thanks to new lease contracts at Vincom Dong Khoi and Saigon Centre. Meanwhile, the vacancy rate in the out-of-center area increased slightly by 0.4 percentage points to 3.9%, due to some expired contracts and tenants restructuring the area.
According to Ms. Trang, it is necessary to note that JLL's data focuses on key shopping centers, unlike the group of independent street spaces such as on Nguyen Trai, 3 Thang 2, Ho Van Hue streets...
This difference shows that the retail market is shifting between types of premises. While traditional street premises face difficulties due to high costs and changing rental demand, well-organized retail spaces such as shopping centers show signs of improvement.
This is not simply a story of "unsold" premises or weak purchasing power, but reflects changes in the way businesses and household businesses choose locations. When revenue, operating costs and customer access are put on the scale, expensive frontage locations are no longer the only decisive factor.
