Novaland is diversifying investment beyond residential development.
Around 12,000 prospective buyers and investors turned out for a three-day exhibition which Novaland was holding in Ho Chi Minh City last weekend to showcase a handful of real estate projects it is developing as part of its second-phase business strategy.
NovaWorld Phan Thiet and NovaWorld Ho Tram stood out to become the most attractive tourism real estate projects at the Novaland Expo 2019, drawing in hundreds of participants each day who explored opportunities to invest in second homes within the two mammoth integrated resorts.
The developer capitalized on the expo to promote Aqua City, which is under construction in Dong Nai province, to the public for the first time. This is the first ecological housing township Novaland is developing outside Ho Chi Minh City.
Novaland has been focusing on housing development in Ho Chi Minh City for years and during the expo it showcased two upcoming housing projects, including the Golf View Residence in District 9 and Palm Marina in District 2, in addition to The Grand Manhattan – a luxury condominium complex under construction in District 1.
These projects are clear evidence of the tripod investment strategy that Novaland will adopt between 2019 and 2023. In the following years it will consider financial investment.
Accordingly, in the next five years, the company will still focus on traditional housing market of Ho Chi Minh City while aggressively expanding investment into satellite urban areas in the neighbouring provinces and hospitality real estate in such key tourism destinations as Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Phan Thiet-Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan and Cam Ranh-Khanh Hoa.
NovaWorld Ho Tram integrated resort proves to be a magnet to participants during the expo.
Novaland has announced that it will earmark nearly half of its current accumulated land bank of around 4,720 hectares for tourism real estate development, another 1,570 hectares for satellite urban areas in the proximity of Ho Chi Minh City and the small remaining chunk for residential development in the southern commercial hub.
Novaland CEO Bui Xuan Huy reveals that the company would launch around 4,500 apartments, townhouses and villas in Ho Chi Minh City this year whilst handing over another 6,000 units to homebuyers.
Huy said as urban land bank in Ho Chi Minh City is increasingly narrowed and there’s rising demand for green space and balanced lifestyle as a result of waste and emission issues, Novaland will develop satellite urban areas in the surrounding provinces of Ho Chi Minh City.
“These satellite urban areas will inherit diverse natural ecological elements while conveniently connected with Ho Chi Minh City,” said Huy.
Aqua City is the first project of this kind. On the total land of 112 hectares in Dong Nai province, Novaland will build a complex of townhouses, single villas, duplex villas, shophouses and a series of modern facilities such as shopping centres, schools and recreational areas.
Novaland will apply technological solutions to create a modern green living environment and complete amenities for Aqua City residents, including the application of solar energy for common areas and environmentally-friendly waste collection system.
A man takes a look at the Aqua City project during the expo.
Huy said the group is fast expanding into tourism real estate as it sees great development opportunities at the time when tourism is booming.
“We are working with leading international consultants and hotel operators to create great destinations for both local and foreign tourists,” said Huy.
The company has clinched strategic cooperation with legendary golfer Greg Norman to design its four golf courses, and with Minor and other international hotel operators to run its upcoming resorts.
Novaland is developing a number of mammoth tourism real estate projects, the biggest of which is NovaWorld Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan province. The 1,000-hectare integrated resort will feature hotels, resorts, villas, shophouses, an amusement park and a golf course. The second NovaWorld will be developed in Ho Tram area of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, where Novaland has recently won in-principal approval of provincial authorities to proceed with a 600-hectare safari and resort complex.
Novaland senior director Nguyen Thai Phien claimed during the “Vietnam Tourism Real Estate Market Outlook 2019” conference held by TheLEADER in Ho Chi Minh City in April that the company had defined Phan Thiet-Binh Thuan and Ba Ria-Vung Tau as the most important destinations for tourism real estate development as the two provinces boast beautiful beaches and improving infrastructure.
The three-day expo lured thousands of prospective buyers and investors.
Duong Thuy Dung, director of property consulting firm CBRE, said although the tourism real estate market had seen an investment boom in recent years, the supply of second homes across the country, including vacation villas and condotels which is estimated to reach 66,000 units so far, is still small compared to the figures of Thailand or Indonesia.
“With their locations near Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Phan Thiet-Binh Thuan are emerging as potential tourism destinations, attracting an increasing number of local and foreign tourists who are buying second homes for weekend vacations and investment”, Dung said at a second-home investment conference on the sidelines of Novaland Expo.
