Despite unpredictable developments relating to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, the domestic real estate market is anticipated to attract a fresh wave of foreign investment due to its high-growth potential, reasonable prices, and relative safety as an investment destination, according to insiders.

Experts believe that there are indications that current real estate prices are beginning to bottom out, with prices predicted to increase gradually in the near future, therefore providing an unique opportunity for foreign investors.

The past 40 years have seen local house prices experience an upward trajectory with statistics of research units indicating that over the past 16 years, the real estate prices in Hoan Kiem district of Hanoi and in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh city have undergone a 27-fold increase and a 22-fold rise, respectively.

In comparison, gold prices over the same period have only increased by just over five times.

Most notably, real estate prices in hotspots such as in Duong Dong town close to the night market of Phu Quoc island have enjoyed a surge of up to 300% over the course of the past two years.

These rising prices nationwide can be attributed to the historic trends of Vietnamese people moving to hoard assets, with the savings rate of local people reaching nearly 50% of their income, double the figure seen in other nations.

Statistics show that even during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak, investors continued to seek out real estate in areas close to ongoing projects such as transport infrastructure, largely due to their clear legal regulations, reputable investors, and high profitability in the future.

Indeed, foreign investors have also shown their keen interest in the nation’s real estate market.

Dr. Su Ngoc Khuong, Senior Director at Savills Vietnam , said that since 2019, a number of projects worth over US$500 million in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are in the process of negotiating transactions which are expected to occur in the third quarter of this year.

The majority of notable foreign investors keen on these projects come from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong (China), Singapore, and a number of European nations.

The Vietnamese real estate market is projected to become a magnet which attracts billions of dollars’ worth of foreign investment capital in the near future, according to real estate experts.