Foreign property portals open in Vietnam

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In September, rapidly-growing Asian property portal, Dot Property, opened an office in Ho Chi Minh City, after seeing increased traffic on its website.

Dot Property Vietnam, which began operating earlier this year, is the most recent addition to the growing Dot Property network. Dot Property sees huge potential in Vietnam, given the always-online lifestyle of the target market – which finds the Internet to be the most accessible tool when looking for property.

According to Alva Horgan, managing director for international markets at Dot Property, the growing population of young professionals in the country will be a source of future demand for residential properties.

“They will be searching online in greater numbers and our platform is aiming to meet this rising demand,” he said. “Since arriving, Dot Property Vietnam has already signed some of the country’s leading property developers, real estate agents, and other companies, and that number continues to grow on a daily basis.”

Meanwhile, TimHome.vn is the recently launched local arm of international real estate technology company Homsters.com. The firm has raised over $1 million from various Vietnamese and international investors who believe in the team, the business model, and in the potential of the Vietnamese market.

Andrew Olejnik, co-founder of Homsters.com and CEO of TimHome.vn said, “We are constantly in discussion with venture capital companies and investors from around the world, attracting additional equity to fuel our growth in Vietnam.

“We estimate that within the next couple of years we will invest an additional $3-5 million in development. We understand that the real estate market is a very complex one and we are ready to continue investing to create a market leader,” he added.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Vietnam, project information transparency has notably improved in the residential market. In recent years, numerous policies and regulations in terms of transparency have been implemented.

More recently, a list of mortgaged projects at local commercial banks has also been published, in response to the local authorities’ request for more clarity on project status across the second city. These steps are collectively being seen as positive actions to promote transparency in the market.

Trang Le, manager of research and consulting at JLL Vietnam, said, “With the development of advanced technology and an influx of capital into the Vietnamese real estate market, transparency will need further enhancement in the future.”

She noted that sophisticated technology will provide a better tool for improving market transparency, and the strong influx of capital will push the demand for transparency to a higher level than previously seen.