Increased foreign home ownership in doubt
Increased foreign home ownership in doubt
The Law on Housing, which expands the right of home ownership to foreigners, will be put into operation this July. Lim Hua Tiong, general manager of CapitaLand in the South Vietnam region, talked with VIR’s Bich Ngoc about his forecasts on residential property sales to foreigners.
Has CapitaLand sold any products to foreigners recently and how many per cent of your total sales was conducted with foreign buyers?
CapitaLand Vietnam has sold to foreigners mostly at high-end projects, such as The Vista and Vista Verde. We have around 10 per cent foreign buyers among our customers.
What novelties have you been preparing for selling houses for foreigners from this July?
In Vietnam, we focus on building quality projects for Vietnamese end-users, and so far our buyers are mostly home owners. As a long term player, we prefer to sell to home owners rather than speculators. CapitaLand would like to establish a long term commitment in Vietnam.
What do you think about the new Law on Housing? In your view, what types of products of CapitaLand will be the most attractive to foreigners?
This is a good policy. Opening the real estate market to foreign buyers is necessary to help the economy. But the government will have to monitor the increased influx of foreign money so as not to affect the mass housing segment. To be honest, I do not think foreigners will buy mass housing because the rental yield is very low. According to my experience, they rather target the high-end sector. CapitaLand Vietnam has high-end projects which have attracted foreigners like The Vista, Mulberry Lane and Vista Verde.
What are CapitaLand’s portfolios on offer in Vietnam?
CapitaLand's current presence in Vietnam is in the four major cities – Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Haiphong and Danang, in the residential and serviced residences sectors.
In the residential sector, CapitaLand has a portfolio of close to 6,000 quality homes across six residential projects in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. We have so far three already competed projects in Vietnam: the Mulberry Lane in Hanoi, The Vista and PARCSpring in Ho Chi Minh City. A further two are under construction, these are the Vista Verde, The Krista and another one will be announced soon.
In the serviced residence sector, our wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited, has a portfolio of more than 1,800 apartment units in 12 properties across the four major cities, making us the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in the country.
CapitaLand now owns more than $1.5 billion in investment capital, including $500 million from Ascott.
Vietnam is one of CapitaLand’s key markets in Asia. The real estate market in Vietnam is supported by the country’s strong economic growth, rapid urbanisation and a young and growing population. CapitaLand is committed to being a long-term real estate developer in the country.
