Many other shop owners in Districts 11, Tan Binh, and Thu Duc said bricks and ashlar paving stones have been bestsellers in recent months as people renovate their houses for Tet.  — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — With a wide range of models, good quality and reasonable prices, locally made construction materials like tiles and ashlar bricks are increasingly capturing the domestic market, according to traders.

Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, owner of a construction materials shop in HCM City's Binh Tan District, said instead of preferring cheap Chinese goods like they used to, customers now choose to buy local tiles and ashlar bricks.

Tiles at moderate prices supplied by Dong Tam Group, Thanh Thanh Joint Stock Company, and Vitaly Joint Stock Company are selling very well, she said.

Many other shop owners in Districts 11, Tan Binh, and Thu Duc said bricks and ashlar paving stones have been bestsellers in recent months as people renovate their houses for Tet (the Lunar New Year), adding that the majority of customers opt for local products.

Many local brick producers have reasonable sales policies in addition to supplying quality products in a range of models.

Their prices are comparable to that of Chinese products, and this helps boost sales of Vietnamese products, traders said.

Demand for paints has also shop up in recent times, but customers tend to choose products they need and can afford, whether locally made or foreign, the traders said.

Ho Duy, owner of a paint store in Go Vap District, said Maxilite and Jotun brands are the most popular, followed by Nippon, Expo, and Dulux.

Paints made by local companies at cheaper prices are also in demand, he said.

Thanh Xuan, a resident of District 11, said she used locally made ashlar tiles for her two apartments due to their good quality and reasonable prices. Chinese tiles look good but fade very quickly, she said.

As for paint, she chose Nippon for the apartment she lives in and a local paint for the leased one.

Since the leased apartment needs to be repainted every time there is a new tenant, it makes no sense to use expensive paints, she explained, adding that her house just needs to be painted every four or five years because she uses expensive paints.

According to cement manufacturers, consumption of cement, especially white cement, has shop up since the last quarter.

Besides the main construction materials, all kinds of products used for house repair, such as resin, flooring, plaster ceiling, wallboard, and mosquito nets, also are in demand.

Traders said demand for construction materials usually spikes two months before Tet when developers speed up construction of housing projects and people renovate their houses to welcome the New Year. — VNS