In 2024, the residential real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City, including the apartment and land-attached real estate segments, continues to face major challenges in supply.
Most of the projects launched during the year were in the mid-range segment, leading to a lackluster trading performance. Due to a shortage of supply, real estate prices remained high, with new projects having prices that were significantly higher than in previous phases.
The absorption rate of some projects is facing difficulties due to the high price level in Ho Chi Minh City. The supply-demand situation shows a slowdown, with the market sentiment becoming increasingly cautious. When the selling price is high, buyers will consider carefully, including the attractiveness of the rental profit margin, the profitability of resale investment, legal transparency, construction progress, the reputation of the investor, or switch to the secondary market.
It is expected that in 2025, supply will show signs of gradual improvement. However, according to Ms. Giang Huynh, Director of Research and S22M, Savills Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is still a market focusing on the mid- and high-end segments. Affordable housing will continue to be scarce as land for affordable housing is increasingly limited. Therefore, satellite areas around Ho Chi Minh City, with convenient locations and good traffic connections, will become potential markets to meet housing needs.
To reduce the pressure on housing prices, the leader of CBRE Vietnam emphasized the importance of urban development in suburban areas. However, this does not stop at expanding land funds, but also requires synchronous investment in infrastructure such as transportation systems, metro, bridges and roads, etc., to ensure convenient connection between the suburbs and the city center.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the development of suburban areas in Cu Chi or Nha Be still faces many obstacles due to the lack of connecting infrastructure. The incomplete belt roads, highways and public transport networks have reduced the potential for developing reasonably priced land funds here.
“To improve the situation, the city government needs to prioritize strong investment in transport infrastructure, especially key connecting routes, thereby creating conditions for the development of commercial housing projects at more accessible prices,” said CBRE experts.
Speaking to Lao Dong newspaper reporters, Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, said that the focus is on restructuring the commercial housing market for safe, healthy and sustainable development.
Especially in some large cities, the “housing pyramid” model is upside down, with a skewed commercial housing product, skewed towards the high-end housing segment, but there is a shortage of affordable housing and social housing. As a result, commercial housing prices remain high, beyond the financial capacity of the majority of middle-income and low-income people in society.
Resolution No. 171 has allowed a pilot implementation of the land access method through an agreement on receiving land use rights or having land use rights to implement a commercial housing project, where the land is not residential land.
“This will create conditions to increase the supply of commercial housing projects. However, we must take into account the delay from the policy coming into practice and the delay of commercial housing projects, which usually takes 3-5 years to prepare for investment. Therefore, to increase the supply of commercial housing products in 3-8 years, it is necessary to improve land access methods to increase project supply and increase the supply of commercial housing products, contributing to reducing housing prices. At the same time, we must promote the restructuring of the real estate market," said Mr. Le Hoang Chau.
