Opportunities of satellite cities

People with real housing needs still find it difficult to find a place to "settle down" in the true sense of the word due to scarce supply.

After Ho Chi Minh City expanded its administrative boundaries, many people expected this to be a boost to the housing market, helping to increase supply, thereby bringing prices to a more accessible level. However, the reality was the opposite, as apartment prices continued to climb while supply remained scarce.

Home buying trends are changing

The housing market report for Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding areas in August 2025 by DKRA Consulting (under DKRA Group) shows that residential real estate in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces has received positive signs of recovery. He cited the apartment segment with a supply of 28,114 units brought to the market, an increase of 58% over the same period, with an absorption rate of more than 20,000 units, 3.1 times higher than in 2024. The townhouse and villa segment recorded a supply of 10,133 products, an increase of 71% over the previous year, with 4,817 products consumed, 4 times higher than the same period. Land plots alone had a supply of 7,167 products, only a slight increase of 3% but the absorption rate reached 1,130 products, an increase of 2.2 times.

The 826 EC commercial urban area is currently the investment and residential center in South Ho Chi Minh City with its location advantage - the intersection of Le Van Luong extension and Long Hau, with red books for each plot and reasonable prices.

According to Mr. Vo Hong Thang, Deputy General Director of DKRA Consulting, the market is clearly shifting. Tay Ninh province currently accounts for 40% of the supply and 67% of the primary consumption of townhouses and villas in the first 8 months of the year. The apartment segment in the old Binh Duong area even surpassed Ho Chi Minh City (old), accounting for 45.5% of the supply and 46.7% of the consumption. However, there is still a strong differentiation, Ho Chi Minh City mainly focuses on the high-end, class A apartment segment, while neighboring areas lead the market in the mid-range and affordable segments.

Regarding buyers, Mr. Pham Lam, Chairman of DKRA Group, said that they can currently be divided into two main groups: buying to live and buying to invest. The investment group is usually those who already own real estate, have idle money, understand the market and finance, and are interested in profitability, traffic location, future planning, investors and payment methods. On the contrary, the group buying to live is usually first-time home owners, with moderate amounts of money, making careful decisions, paying more attention to factors such as location, living environment, amenities, price and bank support.

Mr. Lam cited data from DKRA Realty (General Marketing and Distribution Agency of DKRA Group) showing that the proportion of investment customers is still dominant over the group buying for residence. The age of home buyers for investment is commonly from 35 - 44, accounting for 37%, while the group buying for residence is concentrated in the age group of 25 - 34, accounting for 40%. Notably, the majority of real estate investment customers still live in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the chairman of DKRA Group, the real estate "wave" has spread to satellite areas and areas bordering the expanded Ho Chi Minh City, such as Can Gio, Can Giuoc, and Long Hau. These are becoming important buffer zones with clusters of townhouse projects, synchronous utilities, sustainable value, suitable for real housing needs with a budget of about 3 billion VND. For example, The 826 EC project adjacent to Long Hau Industrial Park, implemented by Hai Thanh Real Estate Trading Company Limited, has attracted great attention thanks to its policy of supporting 70% loans in 30 years, 15-month interest financing, 24-month principal grace period, and preferential discounts for quick payment and wholesale purchases. This project provides 760 townhouses with an area of ​​80 - 120 m², with 98% completed infrastructure and ready for construction.

Another trend that has also been noted is that young people increasingly tend to choose housing in satellite areas. They value green living experiences, associated with large urban areas that develop in the direction of public transport. In addition, transparent legal factors are considered a prerequisite. To meet this strict demand, many investors continuously improve their products, develop green - smart - sustainable urban areas, associated with systematic infrastructure connections.

Need to develop satellite cities

From a macro perspective, economist Dr. Can Van Luc said that the global economic picture in the 2025 - 2026 period still faces many gray shades when the growth rate is forecast to slow down, from 2.8% in 2024 to 2.3% in the next 2 years, according to data from the World Bank. He pointed out the main reasons coming from the unending geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, persistent inflationary pressure, increasing public debt risks and the decline in growth in the 3 major economies of the US, China and the European Union. However, in that picture, there are still bright spots when global public investment shows signs of recovery.

For Vietnam, according to Dr. Can Van Luc, the situation is somewhat more optimistic thanks to new and prominent growth drivers. One of them is the registered foreign direct investment (FDI) capital flow, expected to reach 26.14 billion USD in 2025, up 7.3% over the previous year and could increase to 42 - 46 billion USD in 2026, corresponding to a growth of 12% - 14%. Of which, the real estate sector alone accounts for 5 billion USD, about 20% of the total FDI capital in the first 8 months of 2025. In general, the bright spot of Vietnam's economy lies in the recovery of investment, the increase of FDI although somewhat slowing down, and the boom of the tourism industry.

In addition, the new policy orientation also creates a clear impact on the real estate market. Dr. Can Van Luc said that the completion of land institutions, with the amendment of the 2024 Land Law and the Law on Real Estate Business, along with the administrative arrangement process, has opened up great opportunities. Ho Chi Minh City alone, after the merger, the area increased 2.4 times, the population increased by 37%, GRDP reached 2,078 trillion VND, accounting for 67.74% of the whole region, GRDP per capita reached 19.49 million VND. This is the foundation to expect a breakthrough, strongly impacting the real estate market.

Along with that are a series of key policies such as building a set of pillar policies to promote green economy and digitalization, implementing Resolution 21/2021/QH15 on housing, diversifying capital sources through the National Housing Fund, strengthening anti-corruption in land management, converting the 2-level administrative model to improve management efficiency. All are considered as driving forces to help the real estate market, especially the satellite segment, have the opportunity to take off.

Planning expert, Dr. of Science and Architect Ngo Viet Nam Son agrees with the above viewpoint and believes that the merger of neighboring areas to expand the space of Ho Chi Minh City will bring this city into the era of "super urban" in terms of area, population and economic role. The superior scale brings great advantages in terms of development space and market resources, but at the same time poses significant challenges in terms of urban management, infrastructure allocation and control of people movement.

In that context, this expert believes that the planning of the Ho Chi Minh City urban area must have a long-term vision from now until 2030-2050 with a multi-center model. Instead of compressing everything into the central core, the expanded city needs to develop satellite cities in the belt, each taking on specialized functions such as industry, services, education - training, smart urban or eco-resort. This multi-polar network is only truly effective when connected by a modern inter-regional transport system including belt lines, highways, urban railways, ensuring convenient movement between the center and satellite areas. "More importantly, the planning emphasizes the criteria of "livable satellite cities", meaning that these cities must be truly livable to attract residents to settle down long-term. Only when technical and social infrastructure is invested synchronously, accompanied by essential utilities in health, education, and employment, will people feel secure to stay. This is the key for satellite cities to play their role in reducing pressure on the central core, while promoting balanced and sustainable development for the whole region" - this expert emphasized.

2025 Residential Real Estate Forum

In the context of the housing market facing many problems regarding supply and rising real estate prices... Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA) in collaboration with Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper and Real Estate Review Community organized the "Housing Real Estate Forum 2025" with the theme "Satellite Waves" on the afternoon of September 18 at New World Saigon Hotel (HCMC).

The forum will raise the following issues: How do legal documents affect the real estate market; How will the three institutional - financial - data drivers shape the "Vietnam satellite standard" in the next 5 years; What solutions do management agencies have in managing, supporting businesses, stabilizing the market and orienting sustainable development for satellite real estate?

Dozens of large-scale projects

According to statistics from DKRA Consulting, Ho Chi Minh City and its neighboring areas currently have about 18 urban area projects with a scale of over 100 hectares, totaling over 16,500 hectares, of which 8 projects have been and are being implemented with an area of ​​over 3,500 hectares, providing over 50,000 housing products to the market.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-co-cua-do-thi-ve-tinh-196250917203234645.htm