More Vietnamese eye tony properties abroad

Booming economy galvanises investors to parlay residential investments into immigration pathways

More Vietnamese are earning the means to invest in high-end real estate overseas, a leading CBRE Vietnam official tells Mansion Global.

High-end real estate abroad has spurred a wave of interest from increasingly affluent locals, according to Dung Duong, senior director at CBRE Vietnam.

“Ten years ago, only those who had relatives would buy properties overseas, so that they could live close to their parents or siblings,” Duong said. “But these days, there is an increasing trend of wealthy parents sending their children to study internationally, and these parents are also investing in overseas property for their kids.”

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Property has become an avenue for Vietnamese investors to secure immigration. Schemes such as the EB-5 visa programme in the US and various golden visas in Europe have emboldened rich Vietnamese to convert their investments into citizenship or permanent residency.

“In recent years, we have seen more investment into European countries, where it is easier to gain citizenship, including Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Hungary and some of the Eastern European countries,” Duong said.

There were 12,327 millionaires in Vietnam last year, a figure expected to top 15,776 by 2023, according to Knight Frank’s latest Wealth Report.

This year, Vietnamese GDP is expected to grow by 6.7 percent, still the fastest in Southeast Asia after a rise of 7.1 percent last year.