HÀ NỘI – Distance is no longer a problem for property investors in and around HCM City thanks to improved transport infrastructure.

The southern property market is seeing an increasing trend of investors looking to the southern hub’s neighbouring provinces.

With land running out for property development in the city, investors are eyeing markets like Đồng Nai, Bình Dương, Vũng Tàu, Long An and Bình Phước where prices are more reasonable and have significant potential for property development.

This was creating an investment wave in emerging real estate markets while traditional markets were reaching saturation point, general director of real estate services firm DKRA Việt Nam Phạm Lâm said.

With the development of transport infrastructure, Lâm forecast emerging real estate markets would boom.

Trần Đức Vinh, general director of real estate firm Trần Anh Long An, said the first thing property developers considered was the development or planning for transport infrastructure.

HCM City was working with neighbouring provinces and cities to develop transport projects aimed at promoting regional links, such as the belt road connecting Đồng Nai Province’s Nhơn Trạch District and HCM City and Cát Lái Bridge connecting Nhơn Trạch and HCM City’s District 2.

The southern city also planned to invest VNĐ96 trillion (US$4 billion) in transport infrastructure this year.

“The opportunities are there for emerging real estate markets when transport connectivity with HCM City improves,” Vinh said, adding that property developers were gearing up to tap these opportunities.

Việt Nam ranks fourth in East Asia in urbanisation growth rate. It was forecast that more than 45 per cent of the country’s population would live in urban areas in 2030 from the current 37.5 per cent.

Nguyễn Nhật Cường from VietinBank Securities Company said rapid urbanisation suggested something for property developers. Instead of focusing on markets like Hà Nội and HCM City, they were moving to neighbouring markets to tap the potential from rapid urbanisation and many projects had seen good sales results.

In Long An Province, developer Hoàng Quân is preparing to implement a commercial housing project with 713 units covering 4.9 hectares in Bến Lức District

According to Đồng Nai Province People’s Committee, a sum of more than VNĐ33 trillion will be invested in transport infrastructure projects from 2018-20 to ensure connectivity with Long Thành International Airport. In addition, the province was working on the Biên Hòa – Vũng Tàu highway and metro line to HCM City.

Distance was no longer a problem for property developers, said Lê Hoàng Châu, president of the HCM City Real Estate Association. Transport infrastructure would be the catalyst for an investment wave in emerging real estate markets, he added. - VNS