According to CBRE's statistics of transactions in luxury and high-end apartment segments, after three quarters of this year, 76 per cent of buyers comes from foreign countries.
It is notable that Chinese buyers accounted for 31 per cent of CBRE's total transactions, compared to only four per cent in 2017 and two per cent in 2016.
In the past, the buyers were mainly foreigners who have lived and worked in Vietnam for a long time but now, thanks to the marketing activities of investors in overseas markets, many people decided to buy apartments even though they have never been to Vietnam.
There is a sharply increasing number of Chinese buyers calculated in luxury and high-end apartment segments and through CBRE's transactions, it also shows a new trend of Ho Chi Minh City's real estate market.
Vietnam Association of Realtors stated that some luxury apartments setting price of about $6,500 - $8,700 per square metre in the central areas of city are being paid attention by the elite and foreigners. The supply of super-luxury apartments in the third quarter of 2018 reached 1.5 per cent with 135 units and absorption rate reached 100 per cent.
According to CBRE's explanation, Vietnam's permission for foreign investors to own local real estate since 2015 is the reason why luxury segment in Ho Chi Minh City attracts foreign customers, especially Chinese.
Moreover, one of the main reasons why Chinese investors are more interested in Ho Chi Minh City's real estate is the similarities seen in development between the city and China's Shanghai.
30 years ago, Shanghai was like Ho Chi Minh City today having a lot of vacant land and low-rise buildings. After decades of development, Shanghai now is one of the global leading financial centers and real estate price has increased many times.
CBRE noted that in 2017, few people mentioned luxury and high-end segment but now, there are several projects with the price at $5,000 - $6,000 per square metre and even up to $9,000. It forecasts that the price of apartments in the segment will fluctuate in the coming time.
