The real estate market is sending out more positive signals. In line with this, developers are collectively bringing properties to the market to capitalize on the "recovery wave". The launch event of the Masteri West Heights project by Masterise Home on July 15th attracted nearly a thousand customers.
The North employs strategies to stimulate demand
In recent days, the real estate market in Hanoi has been consistently receiving information about project launches, primarily in the apartment segment.
For example, in Nam Tu Liem district, the Capital Elite project by Capital Land Company Limited is currently being offered for sale. In this project, from the 10th to the 17th floor, the units are designated for Vietnamese buyers with prices ranging from 55 to 60 million VND/m2; from the 17th to the 23rd floor, the units are aimed at foreign buyers with slightly higher prices (around 10% higher); from the 23rd to the 31st floor are rental apartments, and the remaining 32nd and 33rd floors feature penthouse units. According to information gathered from real estate agents, the Capital Elite developer will provide a 9% discount to buyers who pay 70% of the contract value upfront, and for those financing through a bank, there will be a 1% discount and a 12-month grace period for principal and interest payments.
In Hoai Duc district, the developer An Lac Investment Joint Stock Company is currently offering for sale the Moonlight 1 Anlac apartment project (part of the An Lac Green Symphony New Urban Area project) with prices ranging from 38 to 47 million VND/m2. The project is currently supported by loan programs from Vietcombank - Dong Anh Branch and BIDV - Ba Dinh Branch. Buyers have the option to choose from two different loan packages: 50% financing of the apartment's value with a 3% discount and principal grace period, interest-free for 24 months, or 65% financing of the apartment's value with a 3% discount and principal grace period, interest-free for 18 months. For the BIDV loan package, buyers will have both principal grace period and interest-free period, while the Vietcombank package offers only an interest-free period without principal grace.
In Bac Tu Liem district, the Han Jardin Ngoai Giao Doan - Tay Ho Tay project (building NO1-T6) is currently accepting reservations with a common deposit ranging from 50 to 100 million VND per unit. Among the entities accepting deposits is G.Empire Real Estate Joint Stock Company - a legal entity newly established in 2022. It is known that the project consists of 2 buildings, T6 and T7, initially developed by the Hanoi Construction Corporation (HANCORP) as the primary investor. Later, Taseco Land acquired building T6, and the official selling price has not been determined yet.
A recently noteworthy project is the NHS Trung Van project (social housing project - Nam Tu Liem district), which has been making waves. The project is led by a joint venture between NHS Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company and Construction Investment Joint Stock Company No. 4. Currently, real estate agents are offering commercial units for sale at prices ranging from 38 to 38.8 million VND per square meter. This price is almost twice as high as the selling price of social housing units (19.5 million VND per square meter).
Although the level of new project releases isn't as overwhelming as during the previous hot market phase, the focus now is on enhancing liquidity rather than just pursuing profits. This has led to the implementation of attractive incentive programs. For instance, as part of Vinhomes' sales campaign, homebuyers at Vinhomes Smart City and Vinhomes Ocean Park projects can enjoy discounts of up to 8% for immediate payment or benefit from 0% interest rates over a 24-month period – almost reminiscent of the incentives offered during the vibrant market phase.
At the Tecco Garden Thanh Trì project, the sales unit, Đất Xanh Miền Bắc, has introduced a policy of "returning the property if not satisfied within 18 months" to free up larger-sized units within the project. Under this policy, customers will pay an initial 40% of the apartment's value to sign the sales contract and take possession, while the remaining 60% will be financed by a bank loan. The developer will provide 0% interest support for the first 18 months. After the promotional interest period ends, if customers wish to return the apartment, the sales unit will repurchase it at a price equivalent to the signed contract amount.
The launch of numerous real estate projects has played a significant role in creating vibrancy and stimulating the demand for real estate consumption in the capital market. According to Mr. Lê Quốc Hưng, Director of Business Development for the Northern Region at Masterise Homes, the real estate market has observed positive signals stemming from macroeconomic policies implemented by the Government recently. One of the most noticeable trends is the increase in the supply of real estate products as many projects are being introduced to the market. Among these, condominiums remain the most sought-after property type due to their high demand.
Recently, Masterise Homes officially launched the most exquisite segment of Masteri West Heights (Nam Từ Liêm, Hanoi) - West B tower.
The opening ceremony attracted over 800 attendees, including investors, making it one of the largest real estate launch events in the capital market since the beginning of the year.
This event not only brings a fresh breath to the relatively sluggish real estate market in Hanoi but also highlights the role of a market influencer with strong financial capabilities. In the prolonged challenging market context, Masterise Homes has demonstrated its financial strength and boldness. Alongside this sales launch, within just a week, the real estate developer has successfully topped off the construction of three projects nationwide: Lumiere Riverside and Lumière Boulevard in Ho Chi Minh City, The Ritz-Carlton Residences in Hanoi, and a block of the luxury condominium project Grand Marina Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, set to be delivered in the third quarter of 2023.
"The challenges of the real estate market in the past period have been a 'test' to filter out capable investors and quality projects. In a context of limited supply, customers will have a 'pause' to assess and recognize the true value of real estate products," Mr. Hung added.
Earlier, in the second quarter of 2023, Masterise Homes handed over the first apartments in the Miami zone of the Masteri Waterfront project (Ocean City, Gia Lam, Hanoi). The handover took place during a period of severe supply shortage in the market, and the project received positive reviews from the market. Ms. Anh Tuyet (Hanoi), a customer of the project, shared that her family was very excited because the apartment was handed over with fully furnished built-in furniture, including all appliances and accessories in the kitchen and bathroom. From kitchen cabinets, exhaust hoods, induction stoves, and even ovens, all are of premium brands.
"A truly complete home, from the design and aesthetic space to the equipment... everything is meticulously handed over," Ms. Tuyet exclaimed excitedly.
According to customer Hoang Anh Thu from Hai Duong, not only do residents of Masteri Waterfront enjoy the benefits of amenities within the Ocean Park urban area, but they also have access to their own private facilities within the apartment complex. These include a rooftop panorama swimming pool for each tower, a gym, and a welcoming lobby. This customer particularly praises the communal spaces of the "1-bedroom+" units for their flexible design, space optimization, and functional use.
Rapid Sales in the South
The real estate sales of businesses are expected to rebound due to the confidence of homebuyers and improving brokerage activities following a challenging period.
For instance, at the Lumiere Boulevard project (Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City), within just 1 month, nearly 500 customers have completed reservation procedures to purchase among the initial batch of 2,422 apartments from the 5 towers that were opened for sale at the beginning of July. In the days following the initial sales launch, the goal of selling out the entire inventory has been anticipated to be achieved by the end of the year. Right after the first sales phase, many real estate agents enthusiastically shared this information on various online platforms, describing it as a "Grand Park District 9 storm." According to these agents, a majority of the customers buying in this phase are from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan (China), and mainland China.
The introduction of the "up to 4-5 years interest-free installment" payment program by Lumiere Boulevard has generated significant appeal and serves as a model for many other developers to follow, aiming to capitalize on the trend of reducing interest rates. Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Masteri Center Point project's developer has offered attractive incentives: Customers only need to make an upfront payment of 35% of the total apartment value to receive the unit and live in it for the first 3 years. After that, they will pay 5% per month starting from the fourth year.
Similarly, the Mizuki Park project (located in Binh Chanh district) by Nam Long has introduced a new sales campaign along with a payment plan spread over 40%, divided into 7 installments within 12 months, accompanied by a high interest rate support. According to the released information, the sales event in mid-June 2023 resulted in a pre-sale revenue of around 70 billion VND for this project.
Earlier, the Masterise Homes' project, The Global City, announced a new sales phase accompanied by "huge" incentives: A super-hot support policy for customers purchasing SOHO townhouses in the new center, The Global City: GUARANTEED RENTAL AT A PRICE EQUAL TO DISTRICT 1 for 12 months, with an expected rental profit of UP TO 2 BILLION VND/YEAR.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, Director of Business Development at Phu Dong Group, mentioned that in the fourth quarter of 2023, they will introduce a new project to the market called Phu Dong SkyOne in Binh Duong. This is an affordable condominium project with prices ranging from 1.2 to 1.5 billion VND per unit.
"From now until the end of the year is also a 'hot spot' for real estate demand that businesses are targeting due to signals of lower interest rates, individuals' maturing savings, and young couples with housing needs," Ms. Thao added.
In addition to the aforementioned projects, many new sales activities will also take place in the coming months in the southern region, such as the Picity Sky Park project by PiGroup Corporation and the Bcons Polaris project by Bcons Group.
The market is gradually heating up
In a recent update report, Vietcap Securities Company (Vietcap) assessed that the primary residential real estate market has shown unfavorable developments with low sales volume and few new launch phases in the first half of 2023. However, Vietcap's analysis team forecasts a gradual recovery in the sales volume of residential real estate businesses listed on the stock market in the second half of the year, driven by buyers' confidence and improved brokerage activities.
The observation from Báo Đầu tư Chứng khoán (Securities Investment Newspaper) indicates that in recent times, there has been a trend of many developers implementing special policies to attract brokerage sales, such as increasing brokerage fees, offering higher incentives, expanding bonus criteria, increasing marketing and customer care expenses, making weekly or 48-hour post-transaction settlement service fee payments, and more.
Additionally, developers are also expanding their distribution network, establishing partnerships with agents, covering upfront marketing costs for agents to stimulate the market. Simultaneously, they are reducing the booking amounts for each property, offering discounts of up to 10% on early bookings, introducing more preferential policies such as extending payment timelines, waiving management fees, providing interest incentives for up to 7 years, all to boost demand.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association (VARS),
Ensuring liquidity is essential for developers in the current situation to avoid sinking further into difficulties. Banks easing their lending conditions for the real estate sector through interest rate reductions and relaxing borrower requirements has provided a boost to the market. This move not only contributes to enhancing liquidity in the real estate market but also provides developers with additional resources to complete ongoing projects and initiate new ones, thereby increasing the supply in the market.
However, Mr. Đính also believes that more time is needed to assess whether the market liquidity has truly improved or not. In the short term, the quick launch of new projects in the latter half of 2023 is not feasible due to existing legal obstacles (such as land price determination and/or overall planning adjustments) and the time-consuming preparations required for project launches. Therefore, the market's recovery is expected to commence from early 2024.
From a similar perspective, Ms. Đỗ Thu Hằng, Senior Director of Savills, observes that the timing and potential recovery of the market depend on various factors, including resolving legal obstacles, capital sources, suitable products, and more. In general, the market will only experience more positive changes when projects amend the Land Law, Housing Law, and Real Estate Business Law, which are expected to be passed later this year. Additionally, the government's efforts to eliminate market challenges and difficulties, along with improved access to reasonable interest rates for real estate purchases, will contribute to a more favorable market environment compared to the beginning of the year.
From a business perspective, Mr. Ngô Quang Phúc, CEO of Phú Đông Group, mentioned that businesses have seen positive signals for the real estate market. These signals stem from the more relaxed fiscal and monetary policies implemented by the government recently. The increased disbursement for public investment projects has injected ample liquidity into the economy, boosting business activities and invigorating investment. Additionally, the warming stock market is also expected to contribute to the recovery of the real estate market.
