Luxury real estate in Ho Chi Minh City "warms up"

In the context of the sluggish real estate market nationwide, in the last few weeks of August 2022, the real estate business community in Ho Chi Minh City was abuzz with the sudden "revival" of a series of "golden" projects in prime locations after decades of neglect. In particular, on the occasion of National Day September 2, a billion-dollar project of a Korean investor in the new urban area of Thu Thiem was officially started after many years of procedural problems.

Specifically, the Lotte Eco Smart City Thu Thiem smart complex project, located in functional area No. 2 in the new urban area of Thu Thiem (Thu Duc City), was started on the occasion of the September 2 holiday. The project has a total investment of more than 20,000 billion VND, built on a land area of about 74,513 m2. The project development area is about 50,000 m2 with the function of a financial center, commercial - comprehensive services and multi-functional residential area.

This project has a scale of 5 basements, 60 floors above ground, including a hotel, residential area, commercial area applying modern smart technology. The project investor is Lotte Group (Korea). Although not officially announced, real estate businesses predict that the selling price of apartments in this project will not be less than 20,000 USD/m2 (over 460 million VND). In fact, surrounding projects that have been and are about to be handed over also have prices above 15,000 USD/m2 (nearly 400 million VND).

Bất động sản cao cấp ở TP HCM ấm lên - Ảnh 1.

The Lotte Eco Smart City Thu Thiem smart complex project was just started on the occasion of the September 2nd holiday. Photo: QUOC ANH

A few weeks before, the real estate business community was also buzzing about the price of no less than 1 billion VND/m2 for apartments at the IFC One Tower project (located at the corner of 3 frontages of Ham Nghi, Ton Duc Thang, Vo Van Kiet in District 1, overlooking the Saigon River). This is a project in the central area of Ho Chi Minh City but has been stalled for decades because the investor ran out of capital. At the end of 2021, a business, Viva Land Management and Development Joint Stock Company, bought the project and replaced all the exterior glass, helping the value of the building skyrocket.

Another high-end project that has also attracted attention is One Central Saigon, located right at the metro line 1 station, adjacent to the central roads of District 1, a few steps away from Ben Thanh Market. This project has recently been transferred to Viva Land Management and Development Joint Stock Company and is being rushed to complete for sale. Although the official price has not been announced, people in the industry have predicted that the price of apartments here will not be less than 25,000 USD/m2 (about 600 million VND).

In addition, The Grand Sentosa project right on Nguyen Huu Tho Street (Nha Be District), bordering District 7, has recently been "revived" by Novaland Group and has stimulated the surrounding projects to be more vibrant. The selling price of this project is estimated to be no less than several hundred million VND/m2.

Some real estate investors consider the increase in apartment prices of projects after changing owners to be nothing strange. Because the total cost and factors related to capital flow, material prices, and the class of the new investor are all added to the product price.

A real estate expert assessed that the luxury apartment market is heating up again with large projects being vigorously implemented and about to open for sale. When Ho Chi Minh City basically completes some central routes, and metro line 1 is completed, the selling prices in the central areas will certainly increase, leading to an increase in prices in apartment projects and surrounding townhouses.

Mr. Pham Lam, Vice President of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, said that the biggest bottleneck of the real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City today is the lack of capital and supply. Meanwhile, the demand for luxury real estate is not decreasing but increasing. Therefore, new businesses and investors with great potential often only focus on developing high-end projects.

"Everyone can see the general potential of the real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City, especially in prime locations. What is important is the approach from each investor's perspective to bring the real estate market to a new level, in the right position of the project, worthy of Ho Chi Minh City. That is something that not every investor can see and is capable of doing" - Mr. Lam commented.

Regarding the high-end project that has just been launched in Thu Thiem urban area, Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said that this will have a positive impact on the city's real estate market.

According to Mr. Chau, the policy of developing Thu Thiem into an international financial and commercial center has been highly expected by Ho Chi Minh City leaders of all periods. "It is a goal and a long-term vision for decades to sustainably develop Thu Thiem and surrounding areas. However, the reality is that the planning adjustments of some investors have not been favorable, causing many projects to not be able to be implemented as planned" - Mr. Chau raised the issue.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/kinh-te/bat-dong-san-cao-cap-o-tp-hcm-am-len-20220913212430429.htm