Property market to be strong in 2022: analysts

“Vietnam’s economy is forecast to grow at 6-6.5 percent next year,” economist Can Van Luc said at a conference on real estate on Dec. 13. “If economic recovery programs are well implemented, GDP can grow by 6.5-7 percent. Economic development will help push up realty demand”.

Other contributing factors include the 2021-2030 national housing development strategy that is being finalized, investment in infrastructure, which is regarded as one of three strategic breakthroughs, speeding up of public investment, steady resolution of legal issues affecting property development, and rapid urbanization, he said.

As of September 30, banks’ loans outstanding to the sector had grown by 6 percent for the year to VND2,000 trillion (nearly $87 billion), accounting for 19 percent of total outstanding loans.

In the first 11 months of this year, nearly $2 billion worth of FDI came into property, the third highest of any sector.

Meanwhile, property firms issued corporate bonds totaling VND436 trillion, the highest of any industry.

Luc said: “Real estate is still an attractive investment channel. The prices of property stocks are rising faster than the market, and becoming a bright spot on the bourse”.

Nguyen Quoc Anh, deputy general director of real estate website Batdongsan, said a recent survey by his company of 1,000 house investors found 92 percent planning to continue investing in real estate next year, 44 percent saying they would buy housing in the next one to two years and 32 percent in the next three to five years.

However, things would depend on the Covid-19 situations, with larger investments made if Vietnam controls the pandemic well and vice versa, he said.

Nguyen Hoang, R&D director of real estate services provider DKRA Vietnam, told VnExpress that: “In the first half of 2022 real estate supply and demand will remain similar to the end of this year or increase slightly. In the second half the market will become stringer”.

But if the pandemic remains uncontrolled, the market could slump just like in June-September this year, he said.

“If social distancing measures are imposed again, even if less restrictive, there will be a sharp decline in demand”.