Hanoi’s real estate market to recover soon: Savills Vietnam

The recent real estate market report of Savills Vietnam showed that in the first half of the year, the situation of the real estate market in Hanoi showed signs of recovery in commercial leasing activities, serviced apartments, housing purchases, and hotel room rental capacity.

In the first half of the year, Hanoi's economy grew by 7.8 per cent, a rise of 29 per cent on-year and higher than the 7.2 per cent increase in the first half of 2019. Total retail sales of goods and services reached $14.6 billion, up 16.5 per cent on-year.

However, the rental space market was not very good, as occupancy decreased by 3 percentage points on-quarter, and 4 percentage points on-year, reaching 89 per cent. The west reported the highest increase in the additional rental area, reaching 30,600 square metres. The retail podium saw the highest increase in leasable area, reaching 12,200sq.m, continuing to account for the highest proportion.

Hoang Nguyet Minh, director of Commercial Leasing at Savills Hanoi said, “Demand reflects consumers' confidence in disposable income. Demand for retail space is focusing mainly on supermarkets, convenience stores, healthcare services, and F&B outlets, while fashion and cosmetics are slowing down in terms of expanding demand.”

The office segment has seen significant improvement and occupancy has improved markedly in the first half of 2022, up 2 percentage points on-quarter, reaching 88 per cent, and the additional leasable area reached 80,200sq.m, higher than the whole of last year.

Regarding the serviced apartment market, average serviced apartment occupancy improved across all grades. The grade C segment reported the highest growth at 16 per cent on-quarter. Rental price in Nam Tu Liem district reached their peak at $27.60 per sq.m monthly.

Total supply included 5,719 units from 62 projects, up 1 per cent on-quarter, and 3 per cent on-year. The supply in the inner city is leading, accounting for 60 per cent of the total supply, followed by the west and centre areas, respectively. The grade A segment accounts for the most market share and a new grade B project entered the market in the second quarter of 2022.

The status of the apartment segment was not very positive, as the number of transactions decreased, and the selling price raised. Apartment prices reported a significant gap between the primary and secondary segments. In the first half, the average primary selling price was 44 per cent higher than the secondary selling price, up from 14 per cent in 2018. The situation of the villa and shophouse segment is similar, only 302 transactions were recorded.

“Financial requirements are changing, while issues of legislation and border opening have been addressed. In the context that future supply is abundant, the selling price will adjust to contribute to a stable and sustainable market,” said Do Thu Hang, director of Research and Consulting at Savills Hanoi.

Forecasting the market in the coming time, Savills experts said that Vietnam's economy has recovered flexibly since the beginning of the year, which is affecting the performance of the real estate market in the coming time. Thereby, the retail segment will continue to grow in the second half of 2022, with retail podiums accounting for 69 per cent of total future supply, and shopping malls accounting for 31 per cent.

The apartment market will continue to be active with 14 new projects and the next phase of the two projects will provide about 11,726 units by the second half of the year.

“Financial requirements are changing, while issues of legislation and border opening have been addressed. In the context that future supply is abundant, the selling price will adjust to contribute to a stable and sustainable market,” said Do Thu Hang, director of Research and Consulting at Savills Hanoi.

However, Hang said that the selling price of the adjacent villa segment is currently quite high while the supply is limited, so the absorption rate is poor. Transactions mainly take place in the secondary market among buyers. If the supply with a more reasonable selling price returns to the market, liquidity and operational situation will be improved.

In March, Savills brokered a 55-year long-term land lease between Fuchs, one of the world’s largest lubricant manufacturers, and Phu My 3 Industrial Zone in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. This 2-hectare property is part of the German manufacturer’s plan to expand its footprint in Vietnam. VIR’s Hai Van spoke with John Campbell, associate director and head of Industrial Services at Savills Vietnam, about the significance of the deal and Vietnam’s endeavours to attract similar investments.

In the first three months, Hanoi’s real estate activity recorded different trends in each segment. While the retail, office, and especially villa/townhouse markets showed signs of improvement, the market for apartment resales was bleak.

With competition for rents, services, and building quality, the emergence of green offices and hybrid or agile working is attracting tenants. Matthew Powell, director of Savills Hanoi, and Hoang Nguyet Minh, senior director of Savills Hanoi’s Commercial Leasing, shared the latest insights and trends for Hanoi’s office market and discussed solutions for pressing occupier concerns.