Real estate in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring areas "heats up" before news of local mergers

VOV.VN - Currently, information about changes in administrative boundaries is attracting great attention from the real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces. Real estate transactions are showing signs of being active again but also contain many potential risks.

Expectations of merging Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau into Ho Chi Minh City

In recent years, Ho Chi Minh City has focused more on developing its marine economy. The city is about 50 km from the sea and has about 23 km of coastline. Meanwhile, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, with more than 300 km of coastline and bordering the Can Gio area, forms a seamless area. In addition, Binh Duong - another bordering province of Ho Chi Minh City - has been successful in developing industrial parks. However, Binh Duong still needs to complete its port system, logistics, telecommunications and financial - banking centers, which are mainly concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City.

If Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau merge, it is predicted to be a boost for the Southern real estate market.

If Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau are planned in the same administrative and economic space, the advantages of all three localities will be maximized. This also promotes the vision of developing the marine economy, green economy and digital economy. Currently, the provinces in the Southeast region are promoting public investment, with the goal of completing a synchronous inter-regional infrastructure system in the next 5-10 years. Ho Chi Minh City's development towards the sea will open up great opportunities to review and optimize infrastructure projects, ensuring that investment capital is used effectively.

Exciting not only because of merger information

Recently, the real estate market in the South has become vibrant again, but the reason is not only due to merger information. According to CBRE Vietnam, many apartment, townhouse and land projects opened for sale in early 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Long An have recorded absorption rates of up to 80 - 90%, with the participation of many investors from the North. This shows that the purchasing power of real estate in the South is recovering positively.

Real estate experts say that housing prices are likely to increase in the new context, but the rate of increase will depend on planning and infrastructure investment. Land prices can increase significantly if localities are planned as satellites of large provinces, with synchronous infrastructure and closely linked economies.

From the beginning of 2025, many projects will be opened for sale.

In Binh Duong, the cash flow real estate market in the Vsip 2 and Vsip 3 industrial parks has not changed much. According to a real estate brokerage company, land prices in the Bac Tan Uyen and Ben Cat areas are currently only about 65% of the peak price. In Thuan An, prices for single and twin villas range from 3 to 4.8 billion VND, equivalent to 70% of the peak price.

Nguyen Duy Phuc, a real estate broker in Binh Duong

Mr. Nguyen Duy Phuc, a real estate broker, shared: “Currently, real estate transactions in Binh Duong are still not active due to large supply and industrial parks that have not attracted many workers. Investing in real estate at this time with the expectation of a large profit of over 15% per year is quite difficult. However, investing in land with boarding houses or land that can build boarding houses can bring double benefits: 4% from renting and about 8% from expected price increases.”

Impact of merger information on the market

Since the beginning of 2025, real estate businesses have announced their product baskets and promoted sales, contributing to creating a positive effect on the market. The active participation of investors and agents not only promotes liquidity but also increases the heat in the market.

The merger news also created a certain heat. According to Mr. Dang Thanh Nam, a broker in Vung Tau, many small houses are being sought after by customers from Ho Chi Minh City. The trend of owning a second home near the sea is popular, especially when the infrastructure is developed synchronously and the connecting routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Vung Tau are completed. Real estate prices in Vung Tau have increased slightly by about 1 - 2%. Meanwhile, the markets in Ba Ria and Dat Do are still quiet due to large supply and prices peaked at the end of 2022.

The merger news has affected buyer sentiment, with signs of increased transactions and price fluctuations in some areas. Apartment and townhouse projects near Ho Chi Minh City or conveniently connected to the city via key infrastructure routes are expected to see strong price increases if the merger plan is implemented.

According to real estate expert Nguyen Duy Thanh, the information about the merger of localities is a positive signal for the real estate market in the South. This is considered a strong boost to help the market recover after the severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, if large localities are merged, it will be easier to unify policies on infrastructure, avoiding the situation of "my province, your province" as before. This will help real estate products become more synchronized and develop more harmoniously.

Real estate expert Nguyen Duy Thanh

Expert Nguyen Duy Thanh gave the example of Nhon Trach Bridge – a project that has been discussed for many years but has not yet been implemented due to disagreements on budget allocation between provinces. This delay has led to a large gap in real estate prices between the two banks of the river, with the price on the South bank being 10 times higher than the North bank. If the bridge is built, this gap will gradually narrow, even erase, bringing balance and even development to the whole area.