Proptech, which is the use of information technology (IT) to help individuals and companies research, buy, sell and manage real estate, is developing and expanding on the back of strong momentum in Viet Nam real estate market, said Trang Bui, Head of Markets at JLL Viet Nam.
In Vietnam, the development of proptech is more prominent in the segments of residential and office. These two sectors witness high levels of interest from both developers and buyers and are served by more than 50% of proptech players in the market.
According to Finrei’s list of Viet Nam proptech ecosystem, the most notable segments of proptech is related to residential market in listing and marketplaces, tech-enabled brokerage, leasing and renting and property management.
The second most active proptech segment is in co-working which is now strongly growing in line with the booming office market in Viet Nam. As more companies embrace flexible workspace, smart technology has a major role in helping landlords and companies understand – and optimize – how various spaces are being used. All signs point to growth for the smart building market, with almost new builds involving at least one aspect of smart technology such as smart lighting or heating.
Currently, about 80% of players in the market are foreign startups or startups funded by foreign investors. However, there are several locally founded proptech companies that are well-known in the market and are growing strongly, for example Batdongsan.com – a listing website, is the biggest player in the market with about 7 million visitors per month on average.
Besides proptech segments directly serving residential and office sectors, there are those developed to serve related industries such as hotel, property analysis, construction, fund raising, among others.
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Vietnam's proptech ecosystem. Photo: Finrei
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“These proptech segments do not solely serve consumers in the near term, but given the fast changing natural and built environment, also affect long-term government planning, sustainability and climate change,” said Jeriel Tan, Marketing Manager at Technode.com.
In other aspect, proptech companies in Viet Nam have started to collaborate with fintech players, providing better services in residential sector thanks to the level of investment and consumer engagement.
At present, property management companies are trying to connect and integrate e-wallet into their property management apps in order to improve services and experience for their users. Listing real estate websites have announced collaborations with e-wallet providers for easier collection of service fees from their users. However, as Viet Nam is still predominantly a cash economy and credit card penetration is still low, this integration may take some time.
The prospects for proptech in Viet Nam are still positive due to young demographics, tech savvy population and available funding and incentives for technological start-ups in Viet Nam in the context that inherent barriers arising from a traditional mindset and the high requirement for trust in the real estate industry, JLL emphasized.
More support from the government is much needed to foster the start-up culture, making it easier for companies to enter the smart tech market. As more competitors enters the market, prices will decrease and proptech will become more accessible.
For the growth of proptech in the future, there is a need for wider and better-quality network connectivity in Viet Nam, JLL noted.
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