HCMC realty transactions up 20 pct

A VnExpress survey found that the number of transactions by many HCMC-based realty companies in October increased 20-30 percent against the time the fourth Covid-19 wave peaked with the southern metropolis as its epicenter.

A real estate company, which has townhouse projects in HCMC’s Thu Duc City, said transactions have gone up since the second week of October, surging 30 percent against June. It predicted bigger townhouse sales in November and December.

Another firm in Thu Duc City said demand for land and houses in outlying areas with prices of VND2.5-3 billion ($108,700-130,400) has risen. The demand for townhouses and villas that cost VND7-15 billion is expected to follow suit soon.

At a recent seminar on the real estate market in the post social distancing period, Dang Thi Kim Oanh, chairwoman of Kim Oanh Real Estate Joint Stock Company, said: "Transactions are showing signs of improvement, but not as big as in 2020," she stated.

Nguyen Hoang, R&D director of real estate services provider DKRA Vietnam, predicted that in the fourth quarter of this year, the realty liquidity would increase against the third quarter, but decline against the first quarter.

The purchasing power in the last quarter will mainly rely on well-off people who opt for real estate as a leading channel for long-term investments. They tend to prefer houses and villas in HCMC’s outlying areas and its neighboring provinces.

According to the Vietnam Association of Realtors, between June and early October, 70 percent of real estate trading floors came to a standstill, and 30 percent operated at half their capacity.