Vietnam had a registered FDI of nearly $26.16 billion in the year to September 20, and real estate ranked second after the manufacturing and processing industries, accounting for 10.6 percent of the total, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

An FIA report said that FDI in real estate went into two main areas: industrial real estate and M&A activities.

Experts have noted that foreign investors in Vietnam can be divided into two groups: the first is interested in cash-generating assets such as office buildings, commercial centers, service apartments and hotels located in central areas; the second focuses on housing development, partnering with domestic investors, especially enterprises with available land, to build apartments or villas.

Butterfly effect

The FDI inflows, combined with the wave of factories moving from China to Vietnam, make the rise of industrial real estate foreseeable. Alongside this, a series of office expansions have also impacted on real estate leasing, and FDI enterprises directly investing in commercial properties has stimulated the growth of this segment.

The demand for human resources to serve these real estate segments has skyrocketed and many corporations need people for key positions and new replacement positions.

It is forecast that in the second half of the year, the recruitment demand will continue to escalate. Foreign experts will be hunted by corporations for positions related to engineering and real estate operation management.

The number of Hong Kong people interested in Vietnam property has risen significantly.

Seize the opportunity

Of late, the strongest waves of FDI have come from South Korea, Hong Kong and mainland China.

"The number of Hong Kong citizens interested in Vietnam property has increased significantly," said Kingston Lai, Managing Director of Golden Emperor Properties.

The number of Hong Kong citizens interested in Vietnam property has increased significantly," said Kingston Lai, Managing Director of Golden Emperor Properties.

Golden Emperor Properties accounts for 80 percent of Hong Kong’s trade in Vietnam property, according to the firm’s statistics.

"We began to approach Vietnam property in 2017 and immediately sold out. Then consumption increased by approximately 40 percent in 2018. And in just the first three quarters of 2019, the number of units we sold skyrocketed to double that of 2018. The buyers are entirely Hong Kong citizens."

Lai said Vietnam is one of those markets that have always been on the verge of blooming, but lacked a boost. "But this time, all the pieces are falling into place."

"So, yes, my advice is that every strategic investor should be pioneers and seize this opportunity, cause the more you wait, the smaller piece of pie you’ll get for much higher prices," he added.