HCMC – Many large real estate companies in HCMC have rushed to acquire land funds and develop projects in HCMC’s neighboring localities, such as Long An, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, rather than in the city.

A view of Ho Tram in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, which has become a hotspot for real estate companies to develop projects - PHOTO: SGT

Last year, the supply of real estate products was modest due to Covid-19. Enterprises mainly conducted merger and acquisition (M&A) deals to acquire land lots and expand their market shares.

Early this year, the supply improved but real estate developers have gone outside HCMC as the land fund in the city has been smaller, while the price has been higher.

According to data from BIDV Securities Company, except for Khang Dien with 100% of its land funds located in HCMC and Vinhomes with 51% of land funds in HCMC and Hanoi, other large real estate developers have over 80% of their land funds in other localities. In addition, HCMC has sold an average of 30,000 apartments a year, but more than 8,000 apartments in Binh Duong were sold in the January-September period last year.

The trend of seeking land funds in other localities will continue in the coming years.

Novaland was actively involved in M&A deals in 2020. It concluded a deal for a 286-hectare project in Dong Nai and some other deals with a total value of nearly US$1 billion. In 2021, it launched multiple projects in HCMC’s neighboring localities.

Nam Long is not an outsider to the trend as 91% of its land fund is mainly in other localities. Last year, it bought 20 hectares of land at the Waterfront project in Dong Nai from Keppel Land, raising its total land fund to 701 hectares.

Nam Long Land CEO Nguyen Thanh Son said it came up with a plan to develop new urban areas in localities near HCMC 15 years ago.

VNDirect forecast that developing real estate projects in localities adjacent to HCMC and Hanoi will be the key trend this year as the prices of land lots there remain low.

According to Bui Quang Anh Vu, CEO of Phat Dat Real Estate Development JSC, the development of property projects in HCMC’s neighboring localities is a strategy to adapt to the current difficult period.

Meanwhile, Nguyen The Nhien, deputy general director of Hung Thinh Land, said his firm was one of the first to adapt to the trend, adding that his firm sold over 10,000 products and spent more than VND10 trillion buying projects last year.

Many other enterprises have had plans to put up their new projects in HCMC’s neighboring localities for sale. For example, the Phu Dong Group will introduce its high-end apartment project on Pham Van Dong Street in Binh Duong’s Di An City with more than 400 units.

Additionally, An Gia Group has announced launching new projects in Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Hung Thinh will also introduce apartment building projects with thousands of units in the two provinces in May.

Nam Long has put up for sale the second phase of the Water Point urban area project with an area of 335 hectares in Long An and Novaland has introduced the AquaCity urban area project in Dong Nai.

Resort projects have also been launched, such as the NovaWorld coastal urban area project of Novaland from Dong Nai to Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Hung Vuong Developer introduced the first 700 villas on a coastal road in Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s Binh Chau, part of the Venezia Beach project covering 72 hectares of land.

By V.Dung

The Saigon Times