HCM City (VNS/VNA) - In Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi many old apartment and office buildings are becoming moreattractive than ever because they are used as shops.

More and more small businesses are flocking to these places toopen shops. In addition to low costs, these places also help them be unique toattract young customers.

The focus on such old buildings is not new.

Long-standing apartment buildings and mansions on main streetslike Ton That Thiep and Nguyen Hue in HCM City have been enjoying steadytraffic for many years thanks to charming coffee stores, cool bars and hipclothing brands.

Hanoi,on the other hand, has always been famous for its old quarter, where the pastand present meet to bring about great business.

What used to be shops of artisans and traders is now home toconcept stores, hostels and restaurants, bustling with tourists and youngsters.

In its latest report, Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) Vietnam said thatin an increasingly tight real estate market more and more investors are findingvalue in adapting old buildings.

The pace of technological and social change around the world meansmore and more buildings are becoming obsolescent as consumer needs and demandshift, and in between the glossy new developments and protected historicbuildings are many older, redundant buildings, it explained.

“Thoughtful reuse of these moribund assets offers a way forinvestors to enter the market and add value,” JLL head of Asia Pacificresearch, Dr Megan Walters, said.

“Obsolescent buildings might be wrong for their current use, butmight also be adaptable to something more suitable.”

Thanks to its past, Vietnam’s large cities are filled with historic buildings andtiny alleyways that lead to more tiny alleyways, it said.

While the older generations used to line up for an opportunity tosecure street-front real estate for retail purposes, young people are more intolow-key properties, it said.

Both Hanoiand HCM City are seeing a resurgence of historic buildings that would have beenreplaced by more modern properties by now, if not for the millennials, it said.

Non-retail businesses are not staying out of the retro wave, itsaid, pointing out Toong is known for transforming many old, underutilisedbuildings into contemporary co-working spaces, bringing modernity and traditioninto the workplace.

Forgotten properties around the city are now busy again thanks tothe presence of start-up companies with a young and hip workforce, though it isnot as if any old building could be resurrected successfully, it said.

Safety should also be a major consideration for businessesconsidering this type of property, it said.

Many historic properties are in various stages of disrepair andsuffer from pests, mould and damp walls, and the absence of building managementboards and safety regulations put these properties at great risk, it warned.

Caution should be taken before investing, it said.

Regardless, the trend is here to stay, for both retail andnon-retail businesses, and investors prepared to think creatively could acquiresuch buildings while the price is still reasonable, it added./.