Last month Nguyen Quoc Cuong, chairman of C-Holdings, teamed up with a distribution agency to livestream the sale of apartments at a condominium project in Di An, Binh Hoa District, HCMC. The development, with over 1,000 condos, is aimed at young buyers and has prices starting at VND33 million (US$1,265) per square meter and a fixed loan interest rate of 5.5% for five years.

The livestream garnered over 150,000 views, more than 31,000 comments and 1,200 prospective buyers left their contact details for follow-up consultations. The developer also reported over 500 bookings during the TikTok event.

In the north, Sunshine Group launched a livestream sales campaign across multiple digital platforms in early July. During its latest sale on July 8 the company showcased a 73-square-meter apartment in Hanoi, attracting thousands of viewers.

It said a woman made a winning bid of VND7.5 billion, and received a VND500 million discount. The company plans further livestreams for a low-rise residential project in western Hanoi, with prices starting at VND6.8 billion.

Eastern Ho Chi Minh City real estate with high-rises and apartment complexes. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

While online property sales are not new, they have largely been driven by brokers and sales teams, especially during the Covid pandemic. So the recent livestreams hosted by Cuong and Sunshine Group represent the first time developers themselves have taken to social media to sell.

Dinh Minh Tuan, director for the southern region of real estate platform Batdongsan, said livestreaming is an intriguing trend that could create new opportunities for developers. He said recent online property fairs have proven successful in generating publicity and engaging younger audiences.

“Even if they are not looking to buy or invest, young people are still curious to see how these livestreams unfold.”

Buyers who book online are possibly already familiar with the products and could simply be following the livestream to take advantage of lower interest rates or discounts, he said. He said other steps in the purchasing process remain unchanged, with buyers still wanting to inspect properties in person to check feng shui, orientation and interior quality, and verifying the sales contract.

Pham Duc Toan, CEO of Ez Property, too thought livestreams are primarily marketing tools to capture attention. “Rather than hosting grand offline events with entertainers, companies are now livestreaming with online influencers to engage customers, encourage account creation, facilitate bookings, and announce special offers.”

Toan, who has over 20 years’ experience in real estate, said it is unlikely buyers would commit to purchases online without first visiting the site or thoroughly reviewing legal details.

Livestreaming could serve as an initial engagement tool for developers but is unlikely to replace traditional sales methods for high-value assets like real estate, he added.

Attempts by developers in the past to build online property sales platforms largely failed to gain traction.