9 out of 10 home buyers choose apartments.

The recently released report on two decades of urban development by CBRE Vietnam shows remarkable figures about home buyers in Vietnam.

Accordingly, the report cited data from the Ministry of Construction, more than 3,000 foreigners bought houses in Vietnam from 2015 to the third quarter of 2023.

Based on the number of successful transactions of CBRE Vietnam, this unit said that out of 10 foreigners buying houses in Vietnam, 9 people choose to buy apartments. Of these, 60% of customers buy apartments for investment, waiting for the price to increase. 75% of the buyers come from developed Asian countries.

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Out of 10 foreigners buying houses in Vietnam, 9 choose to buy apartments. Photo: Hoang Ha

Since 2015, the Government has begun removing barriers for foreigners to own real estate in Vietnam.

According to CBRE, since the home ownership policy for foreigners was relaxed, customers from Asian regions, including China, Hong Kong (China), South Korea and Taiwan (China) have become major investor groups in the Vietnamese housing market.

According to CBRE, the reason why foreigners buy houses in Vietnam is due to the geographical distance, the presence of real estate investors from the above countries in Vietnam. In particular, the strong potential for price increases in the Vietnamese housing market.

Notably, most foreigners invest in buying real estate to wait for the price to increase to make a profit. A few will rent it out while waiting for the price to increase. Meanwhile, there are not many people who buy for the purpose of living.

“Foreign customers love apartment products, especially the high-end apartment segment in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Projects with good locations, suitable prices, and potential for strong growth in the future… are the investment preferences of many foreigners,” said CBRE.

Overseas Vietnamese will have more opportunities to invest in real estate

In the 2024 Land Law (effective from January 1, 2025) passed by the National Assembly, the new change that has received much attention is the expansion of land use rights for overseas Vietnamese.

Specifically, Clause 3 and Clause 6, Article 4 on “Land users” stipulate that land users who are allocated land, leased land, or have their land use rights recognized by the State; are using land stably, are eligible for a certificate of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to land but have not been granted a certificate by the State, including: domestic individuals, Vietnamese people residing abroad who are Vietnamese citizens; people of Vietnamese origin residing abroad.

Commenting on the new regulations that will be applied from 2025, Mr. Troy Griffiths, Deputy Managing Director of Savills Vietnam, said that this change will bring more investment opportunities for overseas Vietnamese real estate buyers.

“This change also creates great potential for the market thanks to direct investment capital from overseas Vietnamese. In the past, overseas Vietnamese who wanted to invest back in Vietnam had to go through relatives or family members, which led to some unnecessary disputes. The new law will solve this problem, creating more favorable conditions for investment and minimizing the possibility of risks between parties in the investment process,” said Mr. Troy Griffiths.

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