Hanoi (VNA) - The slowdown in 2019 and the arrival of the COVID-19pandemic in the opening months of 2020 saw Vietnam’s property market hit “doubletrouble”, but experts have said the possibility of a quick recovery remains,especially as the outbreak has been largely brought under control in thecountry.

According to thelatest quarterly report on the domestic housing and real estate market from theMinistry of Construction, real estate business and investment have both beenhard hit by the pandemic.

The market posted 13,042successful transactions for various types of property in the first three monthsof the year, ranging from apartments, houses, and land to condotels andresorts/villas, accounting for 14 percent of all existing units - the lowest inthe past four years.

The figure markeda decline of 60 percent against the same period last year, according to thereport.

However, Directorof the Ministry’s Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department NguyenTrong Ninh affirmed that the market has not become frozen but has actually developedquite stably.

Despite theCOVID-19 pandemic, prices of resort real estate remained stable while slightincreases were seen in the housing segment.

In Hanoi, theaverage apartment price rose 1.02 percent year-on-year in the first four months,while in HCM City it rose 3.5 percent.

Le Hoang Chau,President of the HCM City Real Estate Association, said the market isexhibiting good “resistance”.

Demand for housing,he went on, remains high, so the market could recover rapidly after the coronavirusis defeated.

Su Ngoc Khuong,Senior Director of Savills Vietnam, pointed to several positive signs speedingup market recovery.

The Government hasrecently issued a number of preferential policies dedicated to disease-affectedenterprises, together with resolutions requiring the cutting of administrativeprocedures and the speeding up of investment disbursement.

These will helpboost the recovery of Vietnamese businesses, he said, including those operatingin real estate.

Vietnam has alsobeen confirmed as a safe and friendly destination for foreign investors, headded.

Stephen Wyatt,Country Head of JLL Vietnam, said that positive economic growth, a stablepolitical situation, and a transparent legal framework are advantages for Vietnam./.