Co-living and green: the latest trends to sweep Vietnam's real estate market

Owning real estate will no longer be a priority for millenials across the world, who will make up half of the global workforce by 2020, according to PriceWaterhouseCooper's latest Millenials at Work report.

The latest trends in real estate development show that environmentally-friendly and smart co-living and co-working models promise to change Vietnam's property market in 2018. 

Co-living 

Shared accommodation is forecast to be the leading trend, as co-living and co-working spaces are becoming more popular among young people. A recent report on Global Market Perspective by Jones Lang LaSalle Vietnam shows that the main target for shared accommodation is young people, and investments have started pouring in.

Many co-working spaces have opened in Hanoi over the past few years. Photo courtesy of Toong co-working space.

Just last year, Ascott Limited, an international serviced residence owner-operator, introduced a new co-living brand called Lyf (pronounced "life") which is designed for and managed by millenials who wish to experience local life. 

Shanghai, Tokyo, London and Paris are forecast to be the cities where demand will rocket to satisfy the increasing need for co-working space among both transnational corporations and startups. 

Green and smart offices

Inside Deutsches Haus HCMC. The building is smart, modern and energy-saving.

Green offices have been popular in Vietnam for the past two years, but demand has only recently started increasing for offices that are both green and smart, especially in Saigon. 

According to a representative from JLL Vietnam, Deutsches Haus, located in HCMC's District 1, pioneers the trend for smart-green offices. The building is designed to save energy and integrates the latest German technology. 

Real estate experts say that this building is the first in Vietnam and among the few in Southeast Asia to be awarded both a silver DGNB Certificate for a sustainable, green building, and the LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

The market for smart-green offices is forecast to expand in Saigon's golden areas such as District 1 in 2018.

The rise of homestays

The condotel or hotel-condo, a form of hotel that offers short term rentals, will face major competition in the real estate market in 2018, forecast Phan Cong Chanh, CEO of Phu Vinh real estate company.

Homestays, garden houses and co-living spaces will be more favored, and will be the new trend in 2018. 

Homestays are becoming more popular in big cities such as Hanoi and Saigon. Photo courtesy of Le Bleu homestay.

Homestays or similar forms of lodging have already appeared in tourist areas such as Hoi An, Sapa and Cu Chi, but on a small scale, Chanh added. But their popularity and investment in them is likely to rise in 2018.

Though less fancy compared with condotels, homestays and garden houses are legally managed and more tourist-friendly. The low management costs are also beneficial for both customers and investors, Chanh said. Homestays will add more variety to the real estate market, and promise sustainable profit returns of about 6 percent per year. 

Ho Chi Minh City was ranked third in a survey of 50 cities worldwide for property rental growth by a survey conducted by real estate firm Savills released in late 2017. Vietnam's southern metropolis was also ranked fifth in terms of investment prospects, and second for development prospects.