This is a high-end apartment project in Ha Noi. The capital city's property market saw a strong recovery in trading high-end apartments during the third quarter of this year. — Photo cafeland.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam's economic recovery in the third quarter and the amended laws on Housing and Real Estate Trading have facilitated the recovery of the country's real estate markets.

This recovery is especially evident in Ha Noi, the CB Richard Ellis Viet Nam Co Ltd (CBRE Viet Nam) said here on September 29 at a press conference to release its third quarter review of Ha Noi's property market.

The company said Viet Nam's economy had continued to show signs of recovery in the third quarter of this year due to growth in production. The nation also showed further integration with the rest of the world through several important agreements.

A long-awaited and unprecedented change to Viet Nam's foreign ownership regulations, which came into force on July 1, 2015, has revived the country's flagging investment outlook.

"The relaxation of foreign ownership restrictions is more significant than previously anticipated and marks a strong step towards the opening up of Viet Nam's real estate market to overseas investment," Marc Townsend, CBRE Viet Nam's Managing Director, said.

These positive factors created advantages for the real estate markets nationwide, particularly in Ha Noi, during the third quarter.

In the third quarter, positive market momentum continued, boosting new launch activities and sales performance. A total of 9,160 new units were launched by 26 projects, doubling the figure from the same period last year, Nguyen Hoai An, CBRE Viet Nam's Associate Director, said.

High-end apartments continue to account for a larger share of the new launch stock. An approximate 2,900 high-end units were launched in the third quarter alone, accounting for 32 per cent of the total new launches.

For the first nine months of the year, the supply of high-end apartments accounted for 25 per cent of the total new supply, up from 20 per cent in the first half of the year.

Overall, positive market sentiment remains in this quarter, spurring cash inflow from buyers. An estimated 6,880 units were sold during the quarter, up by 154 per cent compared with the third quarter of 2014.

Continuing the trend from last quarter, high-end apartments still account for an increasing share in the units sold. For the first nine months of 2015, high-end apartment sales accounted for 29 per cent, up from 25 per cent in the first six months.

In terms of pricing, on a year-on-year basis, the average resale price is on an upward trend for both US dollar and Vietnamese dong, with an increase of 1.4 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.

New projects under construction are seeing sharper price increases than previously completed projects. The primary price is on the rise in most segments, especially for high-end and luxury projects, increasing by an average of 5-7 per cent year-on-year.

"Three months from the date the new regulations came into effect, initial interest from foreign buyers was recorded," An said.

"There hasn't been any particular jump in sales to foreigners as more guidance is still needed for implementation. Professionalism, language proficiency and ease of payment are key issues when foreign buyers are involved."

When buying a home in Viet Nam, foreign buyers place importance on the quality of the property and on reasonable selling prices, An said. They also consider whether the property matches their requirements for living in or leasing it.

Foreign customers have often focused on high-end apartments and resorts in Viet Nam to gain the advantage of leasing these property products, she said. — VNS