Second home supply on the rise as new projects trickle in

The central coast city of Danang has been seen as a favorite destination for tourism property developers as the second home segment enjoyed positive feedback last year. Villas and condominiums worth from several hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars attracted many investors and buyers.
However, several tourism property projects are gearing up to share this narrow segment, offering more choices for investors.Marc Townsend, managing director of CB Richard Ellis Vietnam (CBRE), predicted an increase in second home market stock this year and said Danang might see diminished demand due to strong supply and the rise of other locations around the country.
For example, the tourism property project Saint Simeon was launched late last week with luxury villas built along the 600-meter beach in Phuoc Tinh Commune in Long Dien District in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
Nguyen Thu Huong, executive director of Rung Duong Company, the project owner, said at the launching held at La Cantine Restaurant in HCMC on Saturday that the company would invest US$50 million to develop the 7.5-hectare complex.
Huong said the first phase of the project would start building 36 ocean-view villas from 774 to 1,450 square meters each. These villas are designed with a private swimming pool and the complex will include a restaurant, bar and spa.
The project owner says it will start the second phase this quarter to build a five-star hotel with 100 rooms. Both phases are expected to be up and running by Q3 of 2011. The third phase of the project will build 60 apartments from 120 to 250 square meters each.
Huong said the complex would be managed by the Singaporean management firm Careers Hospitality and that infrastructure was under construction and a model villa would be launched in mid-February.
According to CBRE, villas in the Saint Simeon project are from US$830,000 to US$1.85 million each, or from US$1,800 to US$2,200 per square meter, depending on location.
In another tourism property project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Kim To Service and Trading Company broke ground Saturday to build a villa section at the famous Binh Chau natural hot spring some two kilometers from Ho Coc Beach in Xuyen Moc District.
The developer says it will invest VND470 billion to build 160 villas and service and entertainment facilities within 36 months.
Thanks to being located near the hot spring, the developer is wooing potential buyers with a pipeline system to carry hot spring water to each villa.
Townsend of CBRE projected that the central coast resort town of Nha Trang would enter the second home market with condominium projects to be launched this year. Mui Ne in Phan Thiet City will become a superstar this year with tourism property projects offering multiple opportunities for home ownership, golf and beach vacations.
The Sunshine Hill Villas project in Phu Hai Ward, Phan Thiet City has launched to the market 139 villas from 384 to 523 square meters each with prices starting from US$250,000.
Townsend said foreign buyers were no longer the main consumers of these homes and target buyers would be locals from HCMC and the capital city of Hanoi.