HCMC real estate market gloomy in Q2

Leading property portal Batdongsan.com reported a 8-9 percent decline year-on-year in the number of searches for land and houses on its platform last month.

The land market segment slowed down, with no transactions recorded last month, according to consultancy DKRA Vietnam.

Insiders attributed the slump to a surge in prices driven by HCMC’s outlying districts’ plans to develop into cities within a city and limited supply after some localities stopped granting permission for land subdivision.

The gloomy outlook also haunted the city’s apartment market, with sales plunging by 68 percent from the previous quarter to 1,385 units in the first three months, the lowest in a year.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of investors decided to sell off their apartments due to financial distress after interest incentives expired, a VnExpress survey in early May found.

But demand was gloomy over credit tightening, rising interest rates and high prices despite developers’ efforts to stimulate the market through promotions and discounts.

Some analysts called for close monitoring of the market saying these signs portend the start of a prolonged bear market.

But others dismissed these concerns, saying a slowdown is necessary for the market to readjust after the boom in recent years.