HCMCity (VNS/VNA) -♍ After more than four months of slowing down dueto the COVID-19 pandemic, the property market in the south is regainingstrength and there are optimistic signs of a recovery thanks to demand stillexceeding supply.

While the HCM City market had gone quiet after the COVID outbreak, inneighbouring provinces like Dong Nai, Long An and Binh Duong it had seen robustgrowth last year, experts said. Distance is no longer a problem for developers in and around HCM City thanks toimproved transport infrastructure, and they are increasingly looking atneighbouring provinces where prices are more reasonable and have potential forproperty development, according to experts. In HCM City, some 20 projects in all segments were launched in the first sixmonths of this year with 30,000 units. According to the Vietnam Real Estate Brokerage Association, the economy willkeep pace and achieve better growth, and so investment and demand for housingwill recuperate. The apartment segment is expected to account for a large proportion in thecity, with mid-priced, two-bedrooms units remaining the most in demand. Housing demand in the city exceeds 100,000 units a year, which outstripssupply. Limited supply was mainly because lack of land and legal barriers makedevelopers turn to neighbouring provinces such as Binh Duong and Dong Nai. The Dong Nai housing market seems to be of special interest to them, with manylarge players have such as Novaland, DIC Corp, Dat Xanh, and Nam Long alreadyinvolved to take advantage of the opportunities offered by improvinginfrastructure such as highways connecting it with other localities. Some key infrastructure projects under construction or are in the works includeLong Thanh International Airport, the Ben Luc – Long Thanh and Bien Hoa - VungTau expressways and the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Highway. As of August, Dong Nai had approved compensation payments of more than 9trillion VND for more than 1,900 hectares of land. The provincial People's Committee has also sought Government funding of morethan 4 trillion VND for two roads connecting Long Thanh airport, provincialroads 763 and 770B. According to analysts, real estate projects located around the airport willbenefit in the future. Notably, the Gem Sky World urban area project developed by Dat Xanh Group hasquickly become a hotspot. In Binh Duong province, land in areas close to HCM City with potential foreconomic development, such as Thuan An and Di An cities, have become ideal foraffordable apartment projects, a product the metro lacks. The Vietnam Association of Realtors said apartment prices in Binh Duongincreased sharply last year despite COVID, from 25-30 million VND (1,080-1,300USD) per square metre to 30-35 million VND (1,300-1,500 USD), but remain muchlower than in HCM City./.