Homebuyers often look for property that is in proximity to markets, urban areas, and bustling centres, with convenient access to the amenities. When people live in a downtown area, they will want easy access to shopping, healthcare, education, culture, recreation, and entertainment.

The rise of healthy living

At present, houses located near rivers have attracted special attention from homebuyers in Vietnam. Water is an important element in feng shui for bringing wealth and fortune to the homeowners, and houses that are surrounded by rivers have brought positive energy.

Meanwhile, with well-linked roads nearby, a property can have advantages in transport, convenient for business and trade. It is a place where traffic is busy, it is easy to update new trends, and homeowners can quickly grasp any market fluctuations.

In addition, location is a key factor in determining the success of a real estate project. Real estate value is always proportional to location and geographical coordinates. Two projects may be a few metres apart, but their selling prices and attractions are different.

As urban life has increasingly developed, it has also led to air, noise, and even water pollution. The emissions from large trucks rumbling around day and night and loud sirens have affected people’s lives.

For example, some projects have met the golden criteria, like CitiHome Apartment, CitiBella, Invesco Residential Area, and Ninh Giang Residential Area in District 2 of Ho Chi Minh City. However, some residents do not enjoy a comfortable life.

Phuong, a resident at CitiHome Apartment, said that the section from My Thuy roundabout to Cat Lai ferry is the main road to the apartment and is always overloaded. The road surface is also seriously degraded.

“Residents are familiar with the sight of trucks and container trucks running around and stirring dust. Some days, trucks are in a gridlock for a kilometre,” said Phuong.

According to some experienced property investors, homebuyers not only rely on the three golden criteria, but also depend on many other factors such as construction density, on-site amenities, atmosphere, and payment policy to choose an ideal place to live or an investment with high profitability.

Especially, after the pandemic, homebuyers have become more health-conscious, so they have paid more attention to this factor.

Adapting to change

As homebuyers have changed their criteria, investors and developers have attracted buyers by creating urban area projects with good planning and amenities. This will help future residents avoid any trouble caused by the rapid pace of urbanisation.

More property projects that have been rolled out into the market have placed more emphasis on healthcare amenities in recent times, and businesses have employed this as a highlight of their projects to woo customers.

Hung Loc Phat Real Estate Investment has announced a healthy apartment project, The Peak Garden, in District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City. The product belongs to the high-rise subdivision in the overall complex of villas and high-class apartments, namely Hung Phat Green Star.

Although the project has just been rolled out, it has already attracted great attention from investors. The reason is that the apartments are optimised for openness, with many large windows and open views to bring light and fresh air into the house.

The project also boasts a vertical green system in the area to regulate the temperature of the whole area. Each apartment is also equipped with an air purifier system, an infrared heating lamp, and antibacterial paint to purify the air and protect the health of residents.

Likewise, DHA Corporation also devotes much enthusiasm to installing high-end amenities for the D-Homme project in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 6. In addition to applying a touchless apartment model integrated with 4.0 technology, D-Homme also invested in a DHA Healthcare clinic to take care of residents.

At Novaland’s Aqua City, the developer focuses on the green environment with proximity to the river. About four hectares of the project are earmarked to build a comprehensive system that includes general hospitals and a high-quality clinic, which are consulted and operated by experienced domestic and international partners.

Tran Kim Chung, former deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, highly appreciates that property developers are focusing on health amenities. “This is advantageous not only in terms of operation, but also in terms of investment and utilisation,” Chung said.

According to Duong Thuy Dung, senior director of CBRE Vietnam, the trend towards health-focused apartments will continue into the future. However, it is not possible for this segment to thrive in the short term; it takes time and participation from both homebuyers and developers.

“The need for health is not a daily need, but a sustainable one. As people are facing environmental pollution and climate change, the health factor is even more important,” Dung said. “Therefore, the need to enhance, regenerate, and restore health is for the long term. That will be the key area for investors to develop this segment.”