Will a Western-style Subdivision of Modern Homes and Condominiums near Hanoi, Vietnam Be a Commercial Success?

Question

A European real-estate development company owned by Vietnamese expatriates is buiding a subdivision of luxury villas (from 2,200 sq.ft to 11,000 sq.ft) and condominiums from 750 sq.ft. to 970 sq.ft) in Ha Tay Province near Hanoi. This type of housing is being built to accommodate Vietnamese expatriates, primary from Europe and America, who have returned (or will be returning) to Vietnam to live and work (or to retire).

Do you think the developer will be successful? Do you think many Vietnamese expatriates will come back to live in Vietnam?

Answer 1

YES

Answer 2

personally I think the sizes you mentioned are to big that could be a draw back. 11,000 sq feet is a 1000 sq meters. the condos sound about right. Difficult to invest that kinda of money in a state run government

Answer 3

As you well know Tom, the success of Doi Moi and Vietnam's acceptance into the WTO has led to "American" style conspicuous consumption. Although I am unfamiliar with Hanoi in general, I believe the project will be a great success. While an 11,000 sq ft house is certainly way over the top, there will be more than a few Vietnamese who want or (for business reasons) need a house that says' Look at ME, I AM A SUCCESS !!!).  When people have so much money that cost means very little or nothing at all , then comfort, desirability and ego take over. Even Al (Carbon Footprint) Gore has a 10,000 sq ft house in Tennessee.  This doesn't make them "bad" people, only what we "yankees" call Very Comfortable. LOL

I think that in addition to ex-pats buying vacation/business homes, the wealthier Viet nationals will be clamoring to live there as well. As an enlightening side note, when I left Tan Son Nhut in November, I had an interesting chat with the driver of a new Mecedes-Benz 600 SEL (Viet cost @ 300K usd) who was waiting to pick up his Viet national boss. He told me that business was going very well !

I am sure that the marketing research for this project has been reflective of the capital investment required to bring it to fruition. As long as the craftmanship, ammenities and location are top-notch, they'll do fine.

One last thing to remember, The cost of a palace in Vietnam is a fraction of the American or European cost, which will probably get written off as a business expense anyway.

Who knows, they'll probably have guided tours of the neighborhood when all is said and done.