New blood reinvigorates Vietnam’s biggest night for real estate

The 2019 edition of the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards went swimmingly well with fresh faces taking the stage alongside veteran players

The titans of real estate gamely hobnobbed with the upstarts of the industry for the fifth iteration of the PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards in Ho Chi Minh City.

Around 500 guests flocked Friday to the InterContinental Saigon Hotel for the gala dinner gathering more than 20 of the country’s best developers, representing not only Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, but also Halong Bay, Cam Ranh, and other up-and-coming investment destinations.

Established and emerging players competed for awards in some 52 categories, with special awards for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development, among others. Developers like Phuc Khang Corporation and Him Lam Land took their first wins ever.

New entrant Gotec Land gained the Highly Commended distinction in the Best Boutique Developer category, where it was bested only by awards juggernaut SonKim Land Corporation. “This year we got some new players. Four years ago, [some of] the best boutique developers were nonexistent,” noted Thien Duong, managing director of Transform Architecture and chairperson of the judges’ panel.

Debut competitors also snagged the Best High End Condo Development categories: HDMon Holdings for its Hanoi project, The Zei, and Xuan Mai Sai Gon Construction Investment Joint Stock Company for its Ho Chi Minh City project Eco Green Sai Gon.

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Kien A Corporation scooped the highly coveted Best Developer title, a year after its founding chairperson garnered the Vietnam Real Estate Personality of the Year title. This year’s Real Estate Personality award went to Gamuda Land Vietnam’s chairman Cheong Ho Kuan, who dedicated the award to his team.

Winning an accolade at Vietnam’s biggest real estate industry honours ultimately creates a non-zero-sum game for all, especially in the field of design. First-time entrant Maxland triumphed in the highly competitive housing architectural design category for its Six Sense Sai Gon River project, which was also crowned Best Resort Architectural Design. Similarly, GFS Group bested veteran names in the high end condo architectural design field, won fairly and squarely by its Five Star West Lake development.

“When one developer wins, the others try to step up the game and try to match,” said Duong. “All in all, it raises the bar and standards. Everyone is contributing to making Vietnam a better place with better design and better projects.”

On a night of celebration and congratulations, Vietnam real estate truly won.

See complete list of winners here