High-end property developers undeterred by slowdown
Despite slow sales in the high-end property sector, many real estate developers are still launching new projects.
Interest rate support, flexible payment terms, lucky draws and discounts are among the multiple incentives developers are offering to attract customers.
One determined developer is Khang Dien Housing Trading and Investment Joint Stock Company which on Saturday started marketing its luxury Goldora Villa project on Lien Phuong Road in Phu Huu Ward in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 9.
This project covers some eight hectares with 119 villas, with prices starting from VND6.5 billion per unit.
Ly Dien Son, general director of Khang Dien, said the company had decided to launch the project to assert its business development strategy in spite of current challenges and that the company had received feedback from the market ever since it launched its Villa Park project which is near the newly launched project.
Villa Park is jointly developed by Khang Dien Co and Prudential Vietnam Fund Management Co, a Prudential subsidiary.
It has 213 villas and garden row houses and serviced utilities such as swimming pools, Jacuzzis, barbecue gardens, sport clubs, tree parks and a kindergarten.
A VND1.5 trillion has been allocated for the first phase of the residential project.
Dien said some 60 villas in the first phase of the Villa Park project were sold with prices ranging from VND3 billion to VND9 billion a unit, which encouraged the developer to move on with its second villa project in the area.
In another development in the same area, VinaCapital Real Estate Company is pressing ahead with a plan to launch a residential project later this year after it saw success in its first project nearby.
David Henry, managing director of the company, said the company would invest some US$40 million in the Garland 2 project with 72 villas and four condominium towers.
The firm is expected to get positive feedback from the market as seen in the Garland 1 project whose 53 villas have been snapped up.
The high-end segment on Saturday saw the Singaporean property company Keppel Land Limited and its local partner Tan Truong Company launch their mixed-use development in HCMC’s District 7.
Some 193 apartments in its Riviera Point project along the Ca Cam River in District 7 are offered from VND30.7 million (US$1,460) per square meter.
The US$200 million project has 18 residential towers with a total of 2,400 apartments of two to four bedrooms.
Like other projects, it has spaces for retail shops, food and beverage outlets, and recreational facilities. As planned, the first phase of this project with 549 apartments will be completed by 2014.
Linson Lim, president of Keppel Land International for Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, agreed that the current residential market was tough for all developers.
However, the Singaporean company has a long-term development strategy in Vietnam where it expects to overcome challenges in the coming time.
Flexible payment methods
While a number of developers look optimistic, many others are struggling to do all they can to lure buyers with various incentives.
For example, Novaland Company has started up a free-staying program to get buyers’ feedback for its 39 apartments in the Sunrise City project in HCMC’s District 7.
In the program, the buyer will place a deposit equivalent to 20 percent of the total value of an apartment when they sign a contract.
The buyer then will make an additional payment equivalent to 60% to take the apartments. They are eligible to stay in the apartments for two years without paying a fee.
After two years, they will pay the remaining 20% if they want to buy the apartments. If they don’t, they can return their apartments to the company and take back their deposits together with the interest.
For its part, Phat Dat Corporation allows buyers to pay in 48 installments in its EverRich 2 condo project in District 7.
Instead of fixing a payment schedule, the company is willing to design a payment method that fits each buyer’s monthly income.
The first required deposit is 10 percent of the total value of an apartment and from the second to 47th payment, the buyer will pay a mere 1.3 percent at a time.
The company calculates that for a VND2.5 billion apartment, the buyer can pay about VND40 million per month.
The amount of payment is believed to suit the income of a young family. – Tuoitre
Tags: Vietnam Property market, Vietnam property sector, vietnam real estate market