Recorded on central streets of Ho Chi Minh City such as Nguyen Trai, Hai Ba Trung, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai..., a series of premises continue to be vacant even though the landlord has lowered the rental price. The signs of "renting out the homeowner's house" and "renting out the premises" appeared dense, with some places hanging for several months to half a year.
On Nguyen Trai Street, a nearly 60 m2 space was once rented for 70-80 million VND/month but has been closed for many months. Mr. Nguyen Van Thuan, a premises broker, said that the number of customers coming to see is still there, but almost no one has decided to deposit. "business people are very cautious at this time. The landlord has reduced the price by 10-20% compared to the period of 2022-2023, but customers are still afraid of risks when purchasing power is weak" - Mr. Thuan said.
Not only the central area, bustling streets such as Le Van Sy, Cach Mang Thang Tam... which are hot spots for fashion stores have also fallen into a state of cooling down. The small premises of 20-30 m2, previously easy to rent, are still vacant.
Mr. Le Quoc Thai - owner of 2 premises on Le Van Sy Street, said that he has been proactive in leasing much more flexibly than before: "In the past, I only signed a contract for at least 2-3 years, but now it has been reduced to 1 year. I also accept a 15% discount and allow customers to renovate comfortably, but there are still few tenants".
According to the Vietnam Real Estate Market Report for the third quarter of 2025 from Savills, the site selection model is changing significantly. Instead of trying to keep expensive central locations, many businesses are shifting to suburban areas, small alleys, and alleys to save costs, or even completely switch to online business.
Major brands are increasingly "polluting fish for soup" when investing in careful research on traffic and customer habits. Meanwhile, real estate owners tend to prioritize potential partners with strong and stable potential such as banks, educational centers, gyms or company offices.
It is noteworthy that while traditional premises in big cities are facing difficulties, the rental rate of premises in the entire retail market is still very high, reaching 90%. The reason is that luxury shopping malls are attracting a large number of customers. The new trend is that fashion, entertainment and food brands (F&B) are gradually switching to renting premises at large shopping malls outside the city center.
A survey by CBRE Vietnam also shows that rental prices are being adjusted by homeowners in a downward direction, despite increased supply. The average rental price in the central area in the third quarter decreased by 4% compared to the previous quarter and 2.4% compared to the same period last year, reaching 267.6 USD/m2/month. Meanwhile, the asking price in the non-central area increased slightly by 1.5% compared to the previous quarter and 0.7% compared to the same period, reaching 53.7 USD/m2/month.
