Vietnam realty market sees high growth in May   The local property market saw a doubling of successful transactions in May, said the Ministry of Construction's Housing and Property Market Management Department. According to the department's report on the performance of the domestic real estate market in May, successful transactions in purchasing apartments, especially smaller apartments that offered reasonable selling prices, saw significant growth during the month. Meanwhile, mid-level and luxury apartment projects in desirable locations have attracted many customers who wanted to purchase and lease them. In May, Hanoi saw 1,650 successful transactions on the residential market, 5 percent higher than April and nearly double the number last month, said the report. In Ho Chi Minh, 1,600 successful transactions were registered, 6 percent higher than April and also double in comparison with the same period last year. The segments of residential villas and landed properties also grew in comparison with May 2014. The ministry said selling prices continued to stabilise in May. In Hanoi, the selling price of most apartments remained stable in May, while the selling price of villas and landed properties saw slight increases in some locations, Nguyen Manh Ha, head of the department, was quoted as saying by the Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) newspaper. Meanwhile, the growth in successful transactions led to a drop in the inventory of properties in the domestic property market in May, said the report. By May 20, the value of property inventories on the local market dropped by VND1.34 trillion (US$62.04 million) to VND67.44 trillion (US$3.12 billion) against the same period last year. Of this, the value fell by VND186 billion to VND8.68 trillion in Hanoi and by VND423 billion to VND13.1 trillion in the Ho Chi MinhCity market. The ministry expects that Hanoi will see 1,750 successful transactions on the property market in June and a total of 7,500 successful transactions in the first half of this year – 2.5 times higher than the first half of last year. HCM City will also gain 1,700 successful transactions on the real estate market in June and a total of 7,050 successful transactions in the first six months of this year –2.8 times higher than the first half of 2014. The growth in the property market was encouraged by credit support and other incentives offered by property enterprises to customers, added the department. "Sales are expected to remain at a high level in 2015 due to a massive improvement in buyers' confidence," Do Thu Hang, Head of Research and Consultancy, said in the Savills Vietnam's report on Hanoi property market for the first quarter of this year. Meanwhile, CB Richard Ellis Vietnam, a foreign property service provider in the country, said in its report on the Hanoi property market in the first quarter of 2015 that sales performance was expected to remain positive for the remaining half of the year, with a resurgence of top-tier developers and projects. VNA