Despite COVID-19, HCM City’s retail space rental market has begun to show signs of coming out of its long slump.

Near Ho Con Rua (Turtle Lake), Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon and Nguyen Hue Street in downtown districts 1 and 3, restaurants and coffee and tea shops are becoming crowded again, especially during weekends.

Similarly, after a long time period of shuttered doors and ‘Available for rent’ signs, the Phan Xich Long food street in Phu Nhuan District is almost filled with bustling restaurants and milk tea shops decorated with pine trees and Santa Claus outfits.

Most shopping malls, supermarkets and convenience stores in HCM City are also recovering, on-site dining has resumed, and more and more customers are visiting restaurants.

According to real estate consulting and management company Jones Lang Lasalle, many businesses are still looking for affordable places to rent.

In the medium and long terms, the city is expected to be a top destination for international brands, which would provide a boost to leasing, it said.

Savills, another global property consultancy, said in a report the house leasing market would recover strongly starting in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. — VNS