As many as 91 percent of offices for lease in Ho Chi Minh City was filled in the third quarter of this year, the highest level in the past five years, according to Savills Vietnam Company.

The average rental was 536,000 VND (25.5 USD) per sq.m per month, up 1 percent against the previous quarter and two percent compared to one year ago, said Nguyen Khanh Toan, head of Savills Vietnam’s Research and Consultation Division, at the company’s October 7 press briefing on the city’s Q3 real estate market.

The third-quarter office market welcomed two projects with a total area of 14,300 sq.m in District 1, raising the total supplies to 1.45 million sq.m.

The demand for B- and C-class offices rose sharply, especially new buildings which accounted for 70 percent of the market’s total hired facilities.

Four more office projects are expected be put into operation in the fourth quarter of 2014, providing nearly 30,000 sq.m for the market, Toan said, adding that the city’s office market will have additional 426,000 sq.m from 26 new projects by 2016.

Meanwhile, the hotel market will welcome 10 projects with more than 1,800 rooms in the next three years, mostly four- and five-stars hotels. In the last quarter of this year, one four-star hotel will join the market with 172 rooms.

The apartment market also recorded positive signs with about 3,280 apartments sold in Q3, up 29 percent quarter-on-quarter and 85 percent year-on-year.

About 70,100 apartments from 95 projects are expected to be put on sale between 2015-2017.-VNA