While 2020 is believed to have changed the real estate industry, trends in the sector this year are forecast to sustain or be aligned with demand in the market.

Trang Bui, a senior director at JLL Vietnam, said one of the five main trends in 2021 is “city in the city” and “integrated real estate”, which are popular in large-scale projects.

Vietnam’s property market is becoming more mature, with buyers increasingly interested in a healthy and sustainable living environment rather than simply a place to live.

To attract buyers, developers are, therefore, building residential areas with a range of facilities to help future residents steer clear of problems caused by rapid urbanisation and outdated public infrastructure.

A plus in any large-scale project is the ability to provide different types of housing for many potential groups of buyers, Trang said.

The second trend is the result of a shift to working from home, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed the face of office property.

Country Director of JLL Vietnam Paul Fisher said the trial of work-from-home policy around the world has shown that technology will continue to be helpful to businesses’ operations.

The lack of direct contact has inadvertently created more working pressure, so some people still want to apply a flexible working approach in the future. However, he noted, offices will still be the centre of business activities.

According to JLL specialists, another trend is the growth of logistics and storage infrastructure, driven by e-commerce.

They noted that Vietnam is now one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia. Amid the pandemic, more and more consumers have opted to shop online, raising demand for cold storage warehousing for food and other essential goods.

E-commerce needs storage space three times larger than that of traditional logistics activities, which also helps boost demand for industrial real estate around the world.

Businesses’ shift to “green” and sustainable activities will be the fourth trend leading the property market in 2021, JLL noted, adding that buildings with high ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings may see their rentals rise by up to 33% compared to those without similar “green” certification.

Specialists also expect the property sector to play an important role in creating a less polluted environment, to help society build a sustainable future.

The fifth trend in the market will be investors’ increased attention on the healthcare sector amid the pandemic crisis.

Both domestic and foreign investors have targeted healthcare logistics, and they will need more refrigerated warehouses near their clients to meet the rising demand for temperature-sensitive products like cosmetics, food, medicine, and, especially, COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines in the future, JLL predicted.