and low-cost housing segments though demand has yet to recover from a
prolonged slump.
Hugo Slade, deputy director of market research company Vietnam Cushman
& Wakefield, said so far this year, 46 development projects with
8,550 apartments costing an average of 15.5 million VND per square metre
came into the market.
Developers continued to launch
their products despite low demand caused by high interest rates and
tortuous loan procedures for buying houses, he added.
According to the director of a property company who wished to remain
unnamed, since the market has been dull for two years, most developers
have run out of money.
Among those are Happy Plaza in Binh
Chanh District which consists of 600 apartments priced at 12.5
million-13.5 million VND per square metre and with an average size of
60sq.m.
Thu Duc Housing Development Joint Stock Co is
confident that the medium-priced apartment segment will continue to do
well for at least the next 10 years and has begun the Truong Tho
apartment project at an average price of 15.5 million VND per square
metre.
It has sold all 120 units in the first phase and kicked off sale for the second phase on September 24.
Van Phat Hung Joint Stock Co plans to initially offer 110 apartments in
its La Casa tower in District 7. It is building a total of 2,000 units
there.
Foreign property developers have begun to show
interest in the medium-priced segment unlike earlier when they were
completely focused on the luxury segment.
An executive at
Singapore-owned CapitaLand Co said the company will start building
apartments costing less than 20 million VND per square metre.
He did not mention a time frame but said it was to diversify the firm's offerings in the Vietnamese market.
Small apartments priced at 400 million VND - 800 million VND are the
most in demand, property brokers said, adding 80 percent of successful
housing transactions are in the medium – and low-cost segment./.
