Participants at the press meeting. (Photo: VNA)

New apartment supply in Hanoi and HCM City improved during the last quarter in comparison with the same period of 2023 but is yet to fully recover, General Director of CBRE Vietnam Dang Phuong Hang told a press meeting on April 9.

Housing supply remains limited in both key markets since the beginning of this year.

The majority of new supply in Hanoi came from high-end apartment projects in western areas. Over 2,300 apartments and 30 units of low-rise housing were opened for sale in Q1. The number of new apartments for sale in the capital city increased 11% from a year earlier but was still lower than the 3,000 - 4,000 units for sale recorded in Q1 of 2021 and 2022.

In HCM City, only about 500 apartments were offered to the market during the first three months, and most of them came from following phases of the projects already opened for sale in 2023. This is the lowest quarterly figure in about 15 years and equivalent to only 17% of the number seen in Q1 last year, according to CBRE.

Nguyen Hoai An, Senior Director for the research and consulting division at CBRE Vietnam, pointed out positive apartment absorption in Hanoi though most of the new supply opened for sale in the later part of Q1. More than 2,000 apartments were sold during January - March, equivalent to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, limited supply of apartments led to lower absorption in HCM City compared to a year earlier as well as the previous quarter. Over 600 apartments were sold in this city during Q1, dropping 74% from Q4 of 2023.

CBRE forecast Hanoi will record over 12,000 apartments opened for sale in 2024, rising nearly 20% from last year. As most of the new supply will come from the high-end segment, primary prices are likely to stay high or grow 10% on the yearly basis.

Supply in HCM City is predicted to remain low this year with only more than 8,000 apartments while primary prices may go up about 3% from 2023, CBRE forecast./.