Both the Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi apartment markets have seen an upward trend through the first half of the year, the Vietnam Investment Review (VIR) reported on July 18.

At the end of May, Vingroup announced its second phase of Times City Hanoi was up for sale at starting price of 1.9 billion VND (90,000 USD) per unit with numerous incentives and financing options.

In just two days, nearly 600 units were sold. This meant that market demand required for the right products and Vingroup was timely in putting the units up for sale.

Developer FLC made a market splash last week when it announced it would sell units in its tower at 36 Pham Hung street for 23 million VND (1,050 USD) per square metre, compared to the roughly 30 million VND (1,400 USD) per square metre for neighbouring projects.

Many projects are reporting solid sales, such as Thang Long Number One, Discovery Complex and Royal City.

In Ho Chi Minh City, a range of projects are experiencing rocketing sales such as 8X Thai An, Hung Ngan Garden, Sunview Town and 4S Linh Dong.

According to Savills Vietnam, the apartment market overall has seen an upswing in terms of both transaction and price.

In the second quarter of this year, approximately 1,900 units were sold in Hanoi, up 54 percent on-quarter thanks to strong sales of Grade B projects. According to Savills, projects with good construction progress and strong development credibility generated good sales this quarter.
From the third quarter onward, 83 projects with more than 65,800 apartments are slated to start construction in Hanoi. But 50 percent of those are still in the planning stages. The second half of 2014 will welcome approximately 5,000 units from nine projects, and more than 4,900 apartments from five projects are expected to launch in 2015.

Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City, Savills reported that the overall absorption rate was 17 percent, up 7 percent on-quarter and 9 percent on-year.

“The number of transactions in the second quarter was approximately 2,500 units, up a notable 60 percent on-quarter and 115 percent on-year. Grade C accounted for nearly 70 percent of transaction volume, which was the highest in the last three years in the southern market,” reported Savills.

In the second quarter, Ho Chi Minh City’s districts 2 and 7 continued to see the highest transaction volume, accounting for 46 percent of total sales, followed by Go Vap, Tan Phu, Binh Tan, and Thu Duc, with 34 percent.

“Competitive mortgage rates helped support buyers and strengthen residential demand. Flexible payment terms in a number of Grade B and C projects also encouraged buyer confidence,” Savills noted.-VNA