Just several days before Tet, Thuy Duong Company Ltd inaugurated the twin tower TD Plaza of high-grade apartments in Hai Phong City. Right in the first day of opening, three clients registered to buy the three most luxurious apartments (125-600 sq m) at $1,011-1,225/sq m (not including VAT).

In Hanoi, Gamuda Land, belonging to Malaysian Gamuda group has decided to make investments in the project on Yen So Park, which is planned to cover an area of 324 ha. The project will include a five star hotel, convention center and other items, which is estimated to cost more than $1bil.

As planned, the construction of the Yen So Park will be kicked off at the end of this year. Soon after hearing about the project, people have rushed to hunt for the land plots or houses near the Yen So Park.

The real estate market has been heating up also partially because of the news that in the near future, a five star hotel will be built near the National Convention Centre. Now a Japanese and a Korean group are rivaling to get the right to make investment in the $500mil project.

The Nam Tu Son urban area project (20 km far from Hanoi), which has been pending for a long time, now can find custom. A series of apartments here have been traded in the last time thanks to profitable securities deals. Several owners of the apartments here sold the apartments to get money to cash in securities, while the successful securities investors buy the apartments for hoarding their money.

Mrs Huong, who lives in Lo Duc street in Hanoi said that she has sold 20 sq m of land at VND25mil/sq m to get money to build a house. “It was very difficult to find custom at that time last year, while it is very easy to sell now,” she said.

According to ACB Property Trading Centre, the successful transactions have accounted for 7-8% so far this year, while the figures were just 4-5% in the same period of the previous year.

Doan Xuan Hai, Director of the New Urban Area Real Estate Centre, said that in the time to come, the real estate market will mostly see the transactions worth below VND1bil ($62,500). The main buyers will be young people who have high income or who are supported by their families.

Le Dac Son, Director General of VP Bank also said that the real estate market is defrosting, and that the land and house prices now prove to be more reasonable compared to two years ago.

Mr Son said that VP Bank itself also tries to purchase definitively several properties which will serve as the offices for its 1-class branches. He said that the higher leasing fees have been eating into the profit of the bank (now the leasing fee for the bank head office is between $4,000-5,000).

Analysts all said that the real estate markets in HCM City, Hanoi and neighbouring localities will be more bustling in 2007 with the transactions up by 20-25%.

Not only the demand for leasing offices and high-grade apartments, but the demand for land and houses for accommodation is also increasing. The popular residential quarters like My Dinh, Nam Trung Yen, Van Quan, Nhan Chinh – Trung Hoa, and the luxury areas like The Manor, Ciputra, Ngoc Khanh all have reportedly fully booked, and clients do not have the opportunity to buy apartments at original prices.

Source: Tien phong