Real estate buyers are changing their habits with a focus on real demands that include smaller and greener houses as well as co-living and co-working spaces.
Nguyen Xuan Quang, CEO of real-estate developer Nam Long Investment Joint Stock Company said that five or 10 years ago consumers bought big houses which could accommodate three generations of a family.

Real estate buyers prefer smaller and greener houses.

He said that they preferred buying a house that could be used as an accommodation and office. Now it has changed. Consumers are mostly young people who focus on choosing a house to live and they care about the living environment. And the house they buy is just for one and two generations.
Another difference is the payment method, he said, adding that in the past consumers often paid in gold but now there are more methods such as bank credit.
“Vietnam is undergoing urbanization. Furthermore, the population is young so the demand is high and there is huge room to develop,” Quang said.
Luu Thi Thanh Mau, CEO of Phuc Khang Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company, agreed that a change has been shown in consumer demand and knowledge.
Demand for a life in which there is enough food to eat and a place to live no longer exists, Mau said, adding that the world is changing and consumer’s perception of a living environment is different.
Young, well-educated people earning higher incomes want houses with good living conditions that are friendly to their health and the environment.
With such concerns growing, construction of green housing has increased in recent years in Viet Nam, although it has been occurring in other global markets for a long time.
Vietnam now has about 100 green housing construction projects, fewer than other regional countries like Singapore, according to Mau.
Experts said that green housing construction would continue as more infrastructure projects are built in the country.
Besides, co-living and co-working spaces are also a new trend, which is expected to boom in coming years, experts said.
As more technologies are applied globally and e-commerce becomes more widely used, different kinds of living styles will be created in which people can share a common living environment.
In co-living environments, consumers can use the same room, kitchen, and office.
A number of co-working spaces have been developed in Vietnam, and in the future, more living spaces and public areas may be shared.
Experts have also urged developers who typically build offices to invest in co-working spaces.