HCMC sees no new apartment project launches

Only six are currently available in the primary market in the city and neighboring provinces like Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An, and Dong Nai.

They contain 440 units, representing a 34% decline year-on-year.

HCMC accounted for over 300 of them.

Grade B apartments, or units in good locations with an area of at least 30 square meters, accounted for 76% of the new supply.

Prices have mostly been steady with a few projects in HCMC, close to completion and handover, recording a 3-6% increase.

The highest price in the city is VND82 million ($3,332) per square meter, and the lowest is VND52.5 million.

Real estate consultancy Savills said in its January report that HCMC’s apartment supply last year hit a decade-low of 10,700 units.

The apartment segment saw only 6,300 transactions.

Savills also predicted that new apartment prices would be VND5-10 billion this year, while those priced less than that becoming increasingly scarce.

HCMC’s housing supply is developing in an inverted pyramid model, with 71.5% of the supply being high-end and only 28.5% being mid-priced, according to the HCMC Real Estate Association.

It said a healthy and sustainable model should look like a normal pyramid with its base, the affordable and social housing units, being the largest segment.

The southern townhouse and villa market saw only 98 new units so far this year, down 27% year-on-year, while the absorption rate was a low 16%, according to DKRA.

Most of the new supply is in HCMC, Long An, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai.