A recent report by real estate listing website Batdongsan.com.vn says shophouse rent fell 19 percent in Binh Tan District, 18 percent in District 1 and 15 percent in Binh Thanh District.

It said the number of keyword searches for shophouses in the last 12 months had fallen 35 percent year-on-year.

The figures indicate a decline in demand for shophouses as restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses saw revenues plummet in the second and third quarter of this year due to social distancing and other measures imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

VnExpress data also shows that in the last quarter of this year, landlords have lowered their rents on average by 20-25 percent in the downtown area.

In District 1, some owners lowered their rents by up to 40 percent as the supply of this type of property boomed despite the year’s last quarter being the time for retail businesses to take advantage of the peak shopping season.

A report by Savills Vietnam shows that shophouses have faced major challenges this year with rising vacancies even on major streets like Dong Khoi and Ho Tung Mau in District 1.

Industry insiders say customers shifting to e-commerce amid the pandemic and the plunging number of foreign arrivals have pushed companies to focus more on online sales instead of their traditional brick and mortar business.