Vietnam prime retail rents recover to pre-pandemic levels in Q2

Monthly net effective rents in Ho Chi Minh City increased 12.2% to USD41.7 per sqm.

Net effective rents in Ho Chi Minh City’s (HCMC) prime malls are now back to pre-pandemic levels, increasing 12.2% y-o-y and 0.6% q-o-q to USD41.7 per sqm per month in Q2. 

According to JLL, the high y-o-y growth in rent is mostly attributable to the low net effective rent in 2Q21 (USD37.1/sqm/month) as a result of the rental concessions policy implemented during the second social distancing period in HCMC from June to September 2021. 

“The quarterly rise, albeit minor, in rentals indicates a rebound in demand after the pandemic, especially during the short-term period of a supply deficit, as many planned malls are behind schedule, hence raising competition for available space in high-quality malls,” the analyst said.

JLL added that the overall occupancy rate in HCMC’s prime malls increased 50bps q-o-q to 96.2% in Q2. According to a JLL report, tenants continuously established new leasing agreements with landlords in the face of the scarcity of available space, with only 20,000 sqm available in the city’s 13 prime malls.