They were down 70% from the third quarter and 48% year-on-year.

Housing market report of real estate consultancy Savills Vietnam said the primary supply of townhouses and villas last year was more than 1,600 units, half them priced at over VND30 billion (US$1.27 million).

As recently as in 2018 they accounted for only 7%.

But with the high-priced segment dominating supply and affordable properties being in short supply, and the tight credit policy acting as a dampener for developers and investors, liquidity dropped sharply, Savills explained.

The CEO of a company that distributes townhouses confirmed this.

Townhouses and villas in HCMC and the neighboring province of Dong Nai dominated supply with prices ranging from tens of billions to hundreds of billions of dong.

In the third and fourth quarters, with demand slumping, many sellers in the two places offered discounts of 20-50%, but still found few buyers.

Property consultancy DKRA Vietnam’s data showed absorption rate in the fourth quarter decreased by 42% year-on-year, with the rate in Dong Nai falling by 73%.

Trang Bui, general manager of Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam, said last year more people bought townhouses and villas for occupation and not investment unlike in previous years, and the same trend would predominate this year.

Source: VNE