Le Hoang Chau, its chairman, said the year-end was always a time of growth for the market and this year was no different.

But the market was showing signs of slowing down compared to last year, and this would continue into 2017, he said.

He dismissed fears of a bubble, saying it would only form in a rapidly growing economy.

"This year it is difficult to achieve the country's GDP growth target of 6.7 per cent. Our economy is still in recovery mode."

Furthermore, credit policies were being tightened, he said.

But there was a risk in the high-end segment due to an imbalance between demand and supply, he said.

The association's latest report clearly reveals this imbalance. With a mushrooming of high-end projects, supply exceeded demand, it said.

On the other hand, there was a shortage in the segments in which there was high demand – social housing and housing costing VND15 million (US$666.67) per square metre.

The association said high-end projects were now proliferating not only in the city centre but also elsewhere, especially in the east.

Chau said: "The Government should have policies to balance the market and developers should restructure their projects, moving into segments with real demand and high sales."

"Consumers should decide carefully and not just follow trends."

The market had recently seen a slight increase in prices in many projects, but it was a normal trend during the year-end, traders said.

Prices were up by VND1-3 million per square metre, they said.

Brokers said prices were up compared to the rates initially offered by developers at many projects like Centana, Palm City, Moonlight Residences, and Hung Phat Silver Star.

Nguyen Van Duc, deputy director of brokerage Dat Lanh, said prices were now up by 5-15 per cent. They are mostly mid-end projects by prestigious developers at good locations that have made good construction progress.

According to Duc, prices have increased most in the east and south where transportation is excellent.  

VNS