HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City continues to be a top destination for northern investors, heard the "Vietnam Real Estate Market Outlook H1 2025" event recently held in the city.
Organised by property technology platform Batdongsan.com.vn, the July 22 event, themed Reading the Rhythm, attracted around 500 participants, including investors, brokers, businesses, and industry experts. It featured the latest market data and in-depth analyses, offering valuable insights for stakeholders navigating an evolving market landscape.
Dinh Minh Tuan, Southern Regional Director of Batdongsan.com.vn, noted that the proportion of northern buyers searching for HCM City properties rose from 44% in Q2 2024 to 61% in Q2 2025.
This shift coincides with a period when apartment prices in Hanoi surpassed those in HCM City, prompting many northern investors to view the southern market as offering better price growth potential.
As property prices climb in the former HCM City, nearby provinces such as the former provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai have emerged as attractive alternatives. Binh Duong recorded a rental yield of 4.1%, while Dong Nai posted 4.4%, both significantly higher than HCM City’s 2.8%.
In the first half of 2025, Binh Duong saw a 46% surge in search interest, signaling a shift in investment focus toward more affordable areas. Average prices in Binh Duong and Dong Nai were around 38 million VND (1,453 USD) per sq.m and 33 million VND per sq.m, respectively, compared to 61 million VND per sq.m in HCM City.
According to speakers at the event, the broader real estate landscape in H1 2025 underwent significant transformation. Amid ongoing macroeconomic fluctuations, the Government implemented a series of proactive policies that laid the groundwork for economic stimulation, including within the real estate sector.
Low interest rates and improving credit growth, particularly in consumer and home loans, have been instrumental in unlocking capital and boosting real demand, said Nguyen Quoc Anh, deputy general director of Batdongsan.com.vn, said.
Notably, the issuance of Decree 151 and Directive 78 addressed long-standing legal hurdles, enabling faster project implementation, rebalancing supply and demand, and restoring investor confidence.
At the same time, provincial mergers have started reshaping the country’s economic geography, he said.
The merger of HCM City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria – Vung Tau forms a multi-core growth model poised to become Vietnam’s largest metropolitan area.
Each province plays a unique role: HCM City serves as the financial and high-end services hub; Binh Duong, the industrial and tech hub; and Ba Ria – Vung Tau, a logistics and seaport centre.
Following the merger, the new HCM City’s property market showed strong growth, reflecting rising confidence in future urban planning. Apartments led the surge in interest, buoyed by robust demand from both end-users and investors seeking rental income.
Search interest in the newly expanded HCM City rose 6%, while the former HCM City also recorded a 6% increase. In contrast, Hanoi saw a sharp 16% decline in search volume.
Tuan said that in Q2, apartments solidified their status as the market’s top-performing segment, accounting for 29% of total search interest, surpassing land plots (28%) and private homes (22%).
Survey data from 502 real estate brokers reinforced this trend. Around 64% reported that end-users made up more than 40% of their transactions, while 57% observed that over 40% of buyers planned to rent out their properties, highlighting a move away from short-term flipping.
Notably, 46% of brokers said short-term investors accounted for less than 20% of their client base, signaling a clear decline in speculative activity. This is widely viewed as a positive sign, indicating that the market is moving toward a healthier and more stable path.
Searches for apartments in both new and former HCM City rose by 11% and 9%, respectively, in June compared to April, according to data from Batdongsan.com.vn. At the same time, listings increased by 12%, indicating that supply is beginning to catch up with demand.
Tuan noted that the growing attention toward the newly expanded HCM City stems from thoughtful population decentralization, revised administrative zoning, and the development of satellite economic and service centres. These foundational factors are expected to attract sustained investment in the medium and long term./.
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