Vientiane property market on road to recovery: estate agent 
 
Land and property sale and rental in some cities, especially in Vientiane, will continue to grow now that the country has fully reopened following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the return of foreign tourists and expats.
Reviewing the situation, the Managing Director of RentsBuy, Mr Houmphanh Xayalath, told the Vientiane Times on Wednesday that the reopening of Laos is a boon for macroeconomic recovery and will enable local firms to rebuild their land and property businesses.

The construction of condominiums, apartments and shopping centres in Vientiane is continuing despite the economic downturn.

“In terms of the rental sector, tourists and expats who were recently absent because of the coronavirus outbreak are now returning to Laos. But we haven’t had anyone actually wanting to purchase a condominium; people have only come to us to ask for information,” he said.
However, the property rental and purchase market is picking up and more local people have bought plots of land from estate agents or land and house leasing businesses.
“My recent conversation with an estate agent indicated that at least two or three plots of land are being sold each day. Some buyers take out a home loan package from a bank in order to buy land,” Mr Houmphanh said.
But the construction of houses in some cities, especially Vientiane, has slowed in some areas because of the rising price of construction materials, higher labour costs, and the unfavourable kip exchange rate.
“I would say that the real estate business has grown from 10 percent to 15 percent, which means it is far better now compared to the last three years, while tourism will be among the top revenue generators in 2022 and 2023,” he said.
Mr Houmphanh also predicts that estate agents will see an increase in business following the end of Buddhist Lent, as this is traditionally the time when people buy land to build a house in the upcoming dry season.
Over the past three years, the construction of houses, condos and apartments was largely suspended due to the Covid pandemic and the general downturn in the global economy.
However, it is believed that the macroeconomy will continue to recover when tourism-related businesses are able to benefit from the resurgence in visitor numbers.
In Vientiane, buyers can easily own a plot of land or a house and pay a low annual interest rate if they pay a small deposit to the estate agent and obtain the right to build a house and then continue to pay the agent a certain amount of cash monthly based on the agreement made between both parties.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update October 6, 2022)