Growing VN property sales to foreigners

Many foreigners and Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) are buying apartments in Viet Nam, especially in HCM City. - Photo bighomes.com.vn

Over 10,000 apartments were sold in the second quarter of this year, many to foreigners who are permitted to buy up to 30 per cent of the units in a project.

Property consulting firm Jones Lang Lasalle Viet Nam told Việt Nam News that there had been a strong increase in condo sales to foreigners in HCM City.

Since the law was amended last July, foreigners have bought over 1,000 apartments in HCM City alone, according to the company.

The total number of units sold in 2015 was double that of 2014, thanks to growth in both demand and supply and support from banks for both developers and buyers, Stephen Wyatt, country head of the company, said.

"This trend is expected to continue this year and foreigners buying houses in Viet Nam will remain an interesting topic.

"We believe that the Vietnamese real estate market is going to attract further attention from investors in neighbouring countries."

CBRE, another international consultant, said there are more foreigners buying for investment purposes in HCM City.

Major projects like Vinhomes Golden River, Vinhomes Central Park, The Nassim, and Estella Heights have all seen large purchases by foreign buyers.

Some projects have even sold out 30 per cent of their units to foreigners.

Property developers report a significant increase in the number of foreign clients visiting their projects.

Novaland said since the law was amended, it had seen a regular increase in buying by foreigners.

The company said this was to be expected since over 500,000 foreigners reportedly live in Viet Nam, including around 30,000 CEOs.

The company quoted a report from the Japan External Trade Organisation as saying that 66 per cent of Japanese companies want to expand their business in the country and stay for a long time.

Recent projects by Phu My Hung Development Corporation like Le Jardin or Happy Residence have seen big volumes of visitors and buyers.

The company said there had been a boom in buying by foreigners since the second quarter of last year with foreigners accounting for 10-15 per cent of buyers.

At Le Jardin, the ratio was 30 per cent.

According to developers, foreigners mostly want to buy luxury apartments with full, high-quality facilities in central areas.