Batdongsan.com said in a report that searches on it for apartments in HCMC fell by 23 percent during the month and in Hanoi by 43 percent, indicating dwindling interest in this segment.

It attributed the price rise despite this to a supply shortage.

Dinh Minh Tuan, southern director of Batdongsan.com, said though social distancing due to Covid-19 has shifted a lot of investment from real estate to the stock market, this is only a temporary trend since investors are hold on to properties and are waiting to buy again after the pandemic ends.

Those who do not know much about stocks consider real estate as a safe asset in the long run, and many investors are expecting a recovery, he said.

This means prices are not likely to fall anytime soon, he added.

Giang Huynh, senior research manager at Savills Vietnam, said the prices of around 40 percent of apartments in the primary market rose despite the latest wave of Covid.

Limited land supply, rising land prices, delays in obtaining licenses, and a supply shortage are the reasons for the increase, she added.