A corner of My Dinh II urban area in Hanoi

Particularly, investors from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and anincreasing number of investors from China, are showing their interest in the affordablehousing segment in the Southeast Asian country.

JLL’s recent figures revealed that the total supply of apartments in Ho ChiMinh City and Hanoi reached 201,707 and 224,179 units, respectively, as of theend of Quarter 4 in 2019, equal to a rate of 17 apartments per 1,000 people. Asthe rate is really low, the focus should be channeled into the mass housingmarket where there is real demand.

In the next two decades, Vietnam will enter the demographic golden period

with25 percent of the population aged between 10 and 24 and a median age around 30.The young will be the main driver for affordable housing, especially projectsnear industrial parks and having favourable connection to major traffic points.

While many investors are interested in low-cost housing projects, it is alittle bit hard for them to overcome initial challenges in doing business in anemerging market like Vietnam.

Accessing to a good land fund is a major hurdle for the investors who oftenlook for “clean” land with land use right, good planning as well as completionof compensation and site clearance procedures. However, the assets arecurrently rare in Vietnam; therefore, JLL suggested foreign real estatedevelopers consider partnering with local groups or professional consultationcompanies to break into the market./.VNA