Hanoi office rent in downtrend this year, says researcher
By Dinh Dung - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – Increased supply will push office rent in the capital city of Hanoi down this year although demand for office space there is projected to recover and increase slightly, especially in central business districts (CBD), said market researcher Savills Vietnam.
The company says new supply of office space that has gone into operation since the previous quarter in five districts in the city created a significant increase of some 600,000 square meters. New supply includes BIDV 
Tower and Capital Tower with some 45,000 square meters of Grade-A office space.
The market has seen occupancy across Grade A, B and C soften further and continue its downtrend since the last quarter, when it recorded a significant decline of 18% in the occupancy rate of Grade A office.
The research company said that the average rent for all grades was about US$29 per square meter per month in the last quarter. However, the average rents of Grade A and Grade B office premises have seen a continuous fall in the last five quarters, a reduction of 18% compared with the highest rental rate of in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Demand for office space is expected to slightly increase this year due to positive signs of the recovery of the economy, the return of foreign companies to Vietnam and expansion among local companies, according to the company.
Savills projected that an additional 170,000 square meters of office space will be launched into the market this year, and nearly 1.5 million square meters of office space of all grades from around 100 projects are expected to be ready for tenancy in the next four years.
“We would expect downward pressure on rent due to the likely oversupply of office space,” Savills stated in its report released on Wednesday.
In another sector, the market of apartments for sale in Hanoi, especially in Ha Dong District, was particularly active as some developers had good marketing campaigns as well as attractive pricing and payment terms.
Savills foresees that some 12,650 apartments are expected to come on stream from now to 2012, of which around 2,000 units are to enter the primary market in the first quarter of this year.
The company’s research indicates that the first quarter of this year will see a clearer market trend toward more affordable and lower grade of apartment products, and that demand for housing is expected to remain high in the medium term and demand for Grade B and C apartments, which are more affordable for the majority, are predicted to be higher than that of Grade A.