HCM CITY — The PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards yesterday has recognised the developers, real estate projects and designs in top-tier markets and emerging resort destinations.

Presented by Kohler and organised by Oriental Media in Việt Nam, the awards included categories for HCM City and Hà Nội, recognising affordable, mid-end, high-end and luxury condos, office, hotel and retail properties, as well as outstanding residential development in Nha Trang, Đà Nẵng and Hạ Long Bay.

CapitaLand Vietnam, which entered the race with 10 nominations, was recognised as the year’s Best Developer (Việt Nam) at the country’s biggest and most respected awards programme.

“CapitaLand Vietnam has proven to be a major force in Vietnamese real estate by producing high quality upscale residential and commercial projects. Its commitment to green building and sustainable projects is also commendable,” according to the independent panel of judges.

Another company that leads the winners’ list is Vietnam International Township Development JSC, developer of the ParkCity Hanoi integrated community project. Nine years after the launch of the project, it earned a total of five awards, including Best Housing Development (Việt Nam) for the Evelyne Gardens Residential Neighborhood, ParkCity Hanoi Township.

Resort residential developers Nha Trang Bay JSC and MIVI Joint Stock Company won three trophies each for the Panorama Nha Trang condominium and the X2 Hội An branded residences, respectively, in addition to a haul of four highly-commended certificates for the latter. Panorama Nha Trang by Nha Trang Bay JSC won the Best Condo Development (Việt Nam) title.

These achievements showed the country was entering a “golden period” in the housing and resort segments, as tourism numbers continued to grow and resort residences and condotels rise in popularity, the organisers said.

Four-time nominee Novaland Group, the Best Developer winner during the inaugural awards in 2015, clinched a further two gongs, plus a special award for its chief executive officer Phan Thành Huy, who was selected by the editors of PropertyGuru Property Report magazine as the 2017 Vietnam Real Estate Personality of the Year.

Hari V. Krishnan, CEO of PropertyGuru Group, said “It has been another solid year for the Vietnamese property sector. Confidence in the sector is rising, and with the country’s growing middle class population — majority of who are below 35 years and looking to invest in their first home — the boost that these projects will get by winning honours at the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards is phenomenal.

 “I am encouraged by the Vietnamese developers’ focus on quality that directly impacts consumers. It’s important to acknowledge their efforts in bringing great value to consumers. Everybody wins that way.”

Thiện Dương, managing director of Transform Architecture, who is chair of the 11-member central panel comprising experts in the real estate sector and related fields, echoed the same sentiment. “Considering that Việt Nam is a developing country, I am impressed with the continual progress of its project quality from year to year.

 “The residential real estate sector continues to develop with competition from both foreign and local developers racing to win buyers. It is obvious the country has demand for quality residential developments in all price ranges.”

Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, said, “It is always great to see the Vietnamese real estate sector’s ambitious projects being recognised domestically and regionally. We hope the industry will continue to support the awards and aim for better quality and more sustainable projects in the coming years.”

Winners at the awards will advance to the finale to compete with domestic winners from 15 other Asian markets for more regional accolades. — VNS