The Ghost Month Didn’t Haunt House Hunters: A Tale of Resilience in the Property Market

Recently, we conducted a survey at several condominium projects that are currently supplying apartments for sale in Ho Chi Minh City. We found that the number of visitors to the projects remains impressive. Despite it being a weekday, real estate agents were busy attending to customers.

At around 11 am on August 20, we arrived at the 8.5-hectare Akari City project, developed by Nam Long, located on Vo Van Kiet Boulevard in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City. Despite the scorching weather, there were still many groups of customers visiting the show flat, creating a bustling atmosphere at the project’s entrance and exit.

“Even though it’s the ghost month, we still receive a steady stream of customers daily, mostly end-users. They are well-informed customers who have done their research and received prior consultation from agents. Now they are visiting the project site,” said agent Q, adding that the number of visitors has decreased compared to the market’s peak.

Regarding pricing, agent Q shared that phase 2 of the project offers apartments at an average price of VND 47 million per square meter, with expected delivery by the end of this year. A two-bedroom apartment with an area of 80 square meters is priced at approximately VND 3.8 billion. Smaller units of 61 square meters are priced below VND 3 billion, but this option is currently sold out. It took us about 20 minutes to travel from District 1 to the project site along Vo Van Kiet Boulevard.

From there, we headed to the area on To Ngoc Van Street in Thu Duc City to explore the FIATO Updown condominium project within the Thang Long Home Hung Phu residential area, developed by Thang Long Real Group.

Compared to Akari City, there were fewer visitors at the show flat of this project. We were attended by a male agent who was on duty at the project site on that weekday. He shared that the current inventory for July 2024 is limited, and they are preparing to close this phase and move on to the next one. The project offers nearly 400 apartments with areas starting from 80 square meters, resulting in unit prices ranging from VND 4 to 6 billion.

From our observation, the apartments feature spacious balconies, and the project has a low construction density of 25%. However, due to the larger unit sizes, most options fall within the VND 4 to 6 billion range. Specifically, a two-bedroom apartment with an area of 80 square meters is priced between VND 4 and 4.3 billion, including VAT. Meanwhile, a larger unit of 116 square meters is priced at over VND 6 billion. The project’s proximity to the soon-to-be-completed Ring Road 2 has attracted increased interest from potential buyers.

We had the opportunity to speak with a customer in his forties who was viewing the show flat. He expressed some concerns about the pricing and made comparisons with apartments located on Pham Van Dong Street nearby. “I’m only hesitant about the price. Otherwise, I really like the apartment’s design, especially the spacious balcony, and the peaceful and secure environment,” he shared.

In the afternoon, we drove to the Lumiere Boulevard project within the Vinhomes Grand Park urban area in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City. There, we observed groups of agents guiding customers on site visits, while others signed in at the reception to view the show flat. The project offers apartments ranging from VND 5 to 7 billion for two- to three-bedroom units with areas starting from 65 square meters.

According to an agent, the project’s attractive sales policies have drawn the attention of both end-users and investors. While some customers observe the ghost month, many others do not. They actively coordinate with agents to visit the project site, and some even make reservations immediately after the tour.

Compared to the same period last year, the Ho Chi Minh City real estate market has shown positive signs this July. Last year, the market in the southern region, especially Ho Chi Minh City, experienced a quiet period. Only projects from reputable developers offering reasonable prices were able to sell. There were many cases of reselling land plots, houses, and secondary apartments at a loss.