Real estate acquisitions market sizzles

The value of two of them has not been disclosed and the remaining nine were worth over $1.8 billion, according to the Vietnam Association of Realtors.

Data from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield shows the comparable figure for last year was $723 million.

The average transaction this year has been worth at least double that in the same period in 2023 and the highest in the last six years, the association said.

Another deal announced earlier this month involves Singapore developer Keppel selling a 70% stake in the 64-hectare Saigon Sports City, one of the largest property projects in HCMC, to two local companies for over VND7.4 trillion (US$300 million).

David Jackson, CEO of real estate firm Avison Young Vietnam, said with Vietnam’s real estate market recovering, investors and property developers plan to expand and secure bigger shares of the market.

While acquisitions previously focused on projects having proper legal status and construction approvals, the bar has been lowered now following amendments to the Land Law, Housing Law and Real Estate Trading Law, which are gradually easing legal hurdles, he said.

They now mostly look at a project’s planning and potential and its developer's reputation, he noted.

According to brokerage MB Securities, some developers lack resources even as costs mount and so selling their projects helps them maintain operations.

Most buyers are investors from Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, who are familiar with the Vietnamese property market.

Experts predicted that the real estate M&A market would soon become vibrant thanks to the revamped legal framework, and expected deals to be concentrated in the residential, industrial and logistics segments.

Cushman & Wakefield said the property market is likely to see large inflows of foreign capital in 2024-26.