HCM City Remains Key Real Estate Market: Survey

4:44:45 PM | 12/19/2008

The prospects for HCM City’s real estate market remain promising despite the global economic recession, the U.S.-based Urban Land Institute and business services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a recent report.
 
The southern metro ranked second after Bangalore and before Mumbai, both in India, in terms of development prospects, according to the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2009 report, which is based on opinions of renowned real estate professionals.
 
In three development categories – office, retail and residential rental property, HCM City is viewed as the best place for development prospects.
 
However, HCM City’s rank in terms of investment prospects fell to 13th from eighth last year. Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong took the top places.
 
The city seems to remain on the radar for both investment and development capital in the hotel, office, retail, industrial and distribution sectors, the survey said.
 
The result shows HCM City continuing to be a market of immense interest to property developers and investors, said David Fitzgerald, HCM City-based Tax partner and real estate industry expert of PwC.
 
The report also highlights the interest among investors in buying properties in all sectors, but they are hindered by the limited supply of stock.
 
The report said 2009 would be a challenging year with access to credit likely to be a key obstacle.
 
It is the third Asia Pacific edition of the annual investor survey, which covers 20 key cities in Asia. (Vietnam Economic Times