Apartments for Rent in Vietnam Unscathed (24 Jan 2009)

The segment of serviced apartments remains untouched by woes of the property market, with high demand of apartments for rent in major cities despite the economic downturn, according to a report of Vietnam News Agency.

A representative of the Ascott International Management Vietnam said that over 800 high-class apartments were managed by his company in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi City and many of them were rented. These apartments were popular to foreign people who had been working and living in Vietnam for more than three years, he added. Though foreigners were allowed by the government to purchase houses, effective from 1 January, most of them are not willing to do so, the representative said.

They were comfortable living in areas with good amenities and infrastructures, he explained, while many new houses were built in localities and do not have those factors.

Apartments located in developed areas were more costly, he added. TSQ Vietnam Company Vice Chairman Do Quan also said rentals were preferred by foreigners rather than buying apartments.

Few of them have the need and the financial means to have a property in Vietnam, Mr. Quan added.

Lam Van Chuc, chairman of property company Phuc Duc, said that many foreigners were not yet ready to purchase houses in cash, unlike the Vietnamese. Moreover, these foreigners would only pay mortgages for the apartments if there were extremely low interest rates, he added.

CBRE Vietnam, a property consultant, said that with the gradual decline in the global economy, many foreigners in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi City would be glad to pay rental for apartments at prices ranging from US$1,000 to US$1,500 per month rather than spend US$200,000 in buying them.