HCM CITY — HCM City continues to be a top destination for northern investors, heard the "Vietnam Real Estate Market Outlook H1 2025" event held in HCM City on July 22.

Organised by property technology platform Batdongsan.com.vn, the event, themed Reading the Rhythm, attracted around 500 participants, including investors, brokers, businesses, and industry experts. It featured the latest market data and in-depth analyses, offering valuable insights for stakeholders navigating an evolving market landscape.

Đinh Minh Tuấn, Southern Regional Director of Batdongsan.com.vn, noted that the proportion of northern buyers searching for HCM City properties rose from 44 per cent in Q2 2024 to 61 per cent in Q2 2025.

This shift coincides with a period when apartment prices in Hà Nội surpassed those in HCM City, prompting many northern investors to view the southern market as offering better price growth potential.

As property prices climb in the former HCM City, nearby provinces such as the former provinces of Bình Dương and Đồng Nai have emerged as attractive alternatives. Bình Dương recorded a rental yield of 4.1 per cent, while Đồng Nai posted 4.4 per cent, both significantly higher than HCM City’s 2.8 per cent.

In the first half of 2025, Bình Dương saw a 46 per cent surge in search interest, signaling a shift in investment focus toward more affordable areas. Average prices in Bình Dương and Đồng Nai were around VNĐ38 million per sq.m and VNĐ33 million per sq.m, respectively, compared to VNĐ61 million per sq.m in HCM City.

According to speakers at the event, the broader real estate landscape in H1 2025 underwent significant transformation. Amid ongoing macroeconomic fluctuations, the Government implemented a series of proactive policies that laid the groundwork for economic stimulation, including within the real estate sector.

Low interest rates and improving credit growth, particularly in consumer and home loans, have been instrumental in unlocking capital and boosting real demand, said Nguyễn Quốc Anh, deputy general director of Batdongsan.com.vn, said.

Notably, the issuance of Decree 151 and Directive 78 addressed long-standing legal hurdles, enabling faster project implementation, rebalancing supply and demand, and restoring investor confidence.

At the same time, provincial mergers have started reshaping the country’s economic geography, he said.

 

The merger of HCM City, Bình Dương, and Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu forms a multi-core growth model poised to become Việt Nam’s largest metropolitan area.

Each province plays a unique role: HCM City serves as the financial and high-end services hub; Bình Dương, the industrial and tech hub; and Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, a logistics and seaport centre.

Following the merger, the new HCM City’s property market showed strong growth, reflecting rising confidence in future urban planning. Apartments led the surge in interest, buoyed by robust demand from both end-users and investors seeking rental income.

Search interest in the newly expanded HCM City rose 6 per cent, while the former HCM City also recorded a 6 per cent increase. In contrast, Hà Nội saw a sharp 16 per cent decline in search volume.

Tuấn said that in Q2, apartments solidified their status as the market’s top-performing segment, accounting for 29 per cent of total search interest, surpassing land plots (28 per cent) and private homes (22 per cent).

Survey data from 502 real estate brokers reinforced this trend. Around 64 per cent reported that end-users made up more than 40 per cent of their transactions, while 57 per cent observed that over 40 per cent of buyers planned to rent out their properties, highlighting a move away from short-term flipping.

Notably, 46 per cent of brokers said short-term investors accounted for less than 20 per cent of their client base, signaling a clear decline in speculative activity. This is widely viewed as a positive sign, indicating that the market is moving toward a healthier and more stable path.

Searches for apartments in both new and former HCM City rose by 11 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, in June compared to April, according to data from Batdongsan.com.vn. At the same time, listings increased by 12 per cent, indicating that supply is beginning to catch up with demand.

Tuấn noted that the growing attention toward the newly expanded HCM City stems from thoughtful population decentralization, revised administrative zoning, and the development of satellite economic and service centres. These foundational factors are expected to attract sustained investment in the medium and long term. — VNS