A view of FLC Grand Hotel Quy Nhơn project in the central province of Bình ĐỊnh. Many investors are exploring emerging markets. — Photo courtesy of FLC Group

by Vũ Hoa

HÀ NỘI — There is a trend of real estate developers moving their investments from big cities of Hà Nội and HCM City to other localities, experts have said.

Speaking at a conference on property in 2021 and the rise of new markets held in the central province of Bình Định on Saturday, Nguyễn Văn Đính, deputy general secretary of the Việt Nam Real Estate Association (VNREA) said a wave of investment in real estate projects in provinces has become more intense in the past few years. In the past, big cities were considered “golden land” and the first choice for big real estate developers. Now, more and more businesses are turning to invest and explore new lands.

The reason is that property products in the cities, such as villas and resorts, are increasingly scarce. Property markets in the two cities are lacking land funds, with few products for investment.

“As for apartment products, Hà Nội is not beneficial because the apartment price has reached its peak. Currently, buyers mainly have demand for accommodation, not for business,” Đính said.

In HCM City, in the past two years, there have been no new projects completed. Apartment prices have been increasing sharply at an average of 5-7 per cent, even 10 per cent in some areas. In essence, investors will pour money into a market with good profitability and low prices.

“This was why new markets see strong economic development, including advantages in industrial development and the tourism sector. Excluding areas that have developed tourism real estate, such as Đà Nẵng, Nha Trang and Quảng Ninh, the new markets for the tourism industry are the localities that in recent years have taken advantage of beautiful landscapes and good natural conditions, such as Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Quảng Bình and Bình Định. We agree that these are the addresses that see new markets,” he added.

For these new markets, he said there were many advantages such as open policies, attracting many investors to pour money into industrial development projects, infrastructure and tourism.

Nguyễn Quốc Anh, Deputy General Director of Batdongsan.com.vn said the statistics have reflected the trend of more interest from investors in new markets.

Earlier, the real estate information searches mainly focused on Hà Nội and HCM City. However, in the past two years, searches in other markets have started to increase significantly. For example, in Quy Nhơn (Bình Định), the number of searches from the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter increased by 30 per cent.

“The common point is that when there is a large investment in infrastructure and easy travel, it makes more people interested in real estate,” Anh said.

Trần Du Lịch, a member of Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc Economic Advisory Council, said there are two reasons for the move, because localities like Bình Định, Thanh Hoá and Quảng Bình are developing quickly.

“Major real estate projects have opened up opportunities for many investors. This showed that the emerging market can not rise without pioneering projects and investors,” Lịch said.

He added that Bình Định Province, for example, has paid attention to transport infrastructure in recent years, thus becoming an important factor in attracting investment in the property sector.

Nguyễn Tuấn Thanh, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Bình Định Province, said they have been active in planning to attract investments in many sectors, including real estate.

According to Thanh, the province has vision and foresight in general planning of Quy Nhơn City.

“We also focus on investing in connecting and building infrastructure. In the past 10 years, Bình Định has invested in infrastructure, including airports that are welcoming 10 flights a day for both domestic and foreign tourists, along with a seaport, North-South railway and roads,” he said.

The vice chairman said the locality has opened a number of coastal roads connecting Quy Nhơn with other localities to contribute to development of urban infrastructure and tourism. Bình Định has attached great importance to urban and ecological environment development.

Improving the lives and quality of life for people is one of the reasons why Bình Định is luring investment from developers. — VNS