Social distancing being introduced around Vietnam has affected the number of real estate transactions conducted, according to a report on the real estate market from the Ministry of Construction (MoC).

The number of transactions for apartments and houses in the third quarter of 2021 reached only 11,615, or 39 per cent of the number in the second quarter. The northern region saw 6,226 transactions, 1,745 of which were in Hanoi, the central region 2,792, and the southern region 2,597,  including 352  in Ho Chi Minh City.

The average sales price of apartments was down 2-4 per cent in Hanoi, central Da Nang city, and south-central Khanh Hoa province, but up 2 per cent in Ho Chi Minh City, 4 per cent in southern Binh Duong province, and about 5 per cent in southern Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.
In terms of supply, the main products remained mid-end apartments. Land prices in Hanoi and some northern and central provinces were largely unchanged. In localities conducting social distancing, secondary real estate transactions were almost nonexistent.

Forecasting the prospects for the housing market to the end of the year, the MoC said there will be no breakthrough changes because the southern economy is still struggling to address the damage caused by Covid-19. If the pandemic can be well controlled, however, real estate liquidity will increase again, leading to a slight increase in prices due to limited supply while demand is still high.