According to batdongsan.com.vn, Vietnam's leading real estate trading website, the domestic rental market had a bright start in 2022, although it began to decline in the second quarter.

Nguyen Quoc Anh, deputy general director of batdongsan.com.vn, said the level of interest and transaction volume for property for sale has tended to decrease due to negative factors, such as some large investors' cancellation of purchasing land plots in Thu Thiem, HCM City after winning auctions.

The US Federal Reserve's increase of interest rates caused many domestic commercial banks to raise deposit rates and mistakes in bond issuance have also had negative impacts on this market. The market has suffered bad effects from Ha Noi tightening the separation of land parcels and real estate companies cutting a large number of employees due to difficulties in this market.

However, Le Dinh Hao, sales director of batdongsan.com.vn in the North, said the "rare bright spot" in this market is the recovery and strong growth of the segment for rent, especially in the Ha Noi market.

Specifically, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the level of interest from customers in Ha Noi decreased by 8 per cent for real estate for sale but surged by 63 per cent for real estate for rent compared to the first quarter of the year. The growth of the rental segment occurred in all types and segments. Of which, the level of interest in townhouses had the strongest growth rate at 179 per cent, while the level grew 153 per cent for the office segment, 77 per cent for private houses, and 21 per cent for apartments.

A survey of the rental market's brokers released by batdongsan.com.vn on December 14 also recorded positive signs of this market. Accordingly, 47 per cent of surveyed brokers believed that real estate rental prices will increase slightly, while 16 per cent of them said the price will increase sharply, and 23 per cent said it will be flat. About 10 per cent said it will decrease.

Demand for rental properties in both cities recovered well in 2022 but HCM City witnessed a stronger recovery with the level of interest in rental properties increasing by 103 per cent compared to the beginning of the year, while Ha Noi was up 63 per cent.

This year, townhouses and villas are the two types of real estate for sale with the highest level of interest in HCM City. Ha Noi's data showed a similar trend. Searches for a townhouse increased by 49 per cent in HCM City and 17 per cent in Ha Noi.

A survey of Vietnamese real estate consumer sentiment conducted by batdongsan.com.vn shows that, in 2022, despite the property market facing many difficulties, 70 per cent of households with incomes of VND40-70 million still buy at least one more real estate product. When asked about their intention to buy real estate, nearly half of those who do not have a home said they will buy within the next year. This rate is even higher among those who already own one or more real estate products.

In the survey, 79 per cent of people who own two properties said they will buy more properties in the near future.

These figures show that people's demand for houses and land for living and investment has been and will always be high.

Director of batdongsan.com.vn in the South Dinh Minh Tuan forecasts that in the short term, the prices of some segments in some regions may still level off. Owners of those property products must sell the products due to pressure from high interest rates of loans.

Tuan has recommended that real estate companies need to improve their credit records. Besides that, they need to have issuance of transparent bonds with the ability of payment, aiming to provide attractive finance for buyers.

For home buyers, it is necessary to update macro-financial and legal information, carefully select investors and projects, and consider other factors such as suitable financial plans.

Expert Can Van Luc said that authorities need to remove some bottlenecks for the market to develop better and healthier, including the legal issuance of property projects and bonds of property companies.

In addition, it is necessary to control systemic risks, because there is a great connection between finance and real estate. By next year, the property market must definitely restructure to prepare the foundation for the future.

For real estate enterprises, they need to restructure and control cash flow risks, especially risks of interest rates and exchange rates. They actively approach supportive programmes from the Government such as social housing, worker housing and old apartment buildings. They also must have a specific and feasible plan for corporate bonds maturing in 2023 - 2024.

The company should diversify capital sources from credit channels, stocks, bonds, and investment funds. Other factors they need to pay attention to are changes in management methods and management of risk, especially legal and financial risks. In addition, they need to pay attention to the trend of green real estate and digital transformation.

"In the next few years, the real estate market is expected to have healthier and sustainable development," Luc said. — VNS