HCM City (VNA), April 9 -- Real estate business and housing construction in Ho Chi Minh City have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with significant decreases recorded in supply and demand, according to market watchers.

By the end of the first quarter, rent for the ground floor and first floor property in the downtown area of the city had fallen by 11 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, while rent in the suburbs was down 15.9 percent.

For the office market, the average rent of Grade-A offices in Q1 was 44.6 USD per sq.m per month, down 1.2 percent against the previous quarter and 3.6 percent year-on-year.

Senior Director and Head of Valuation and Market Research Services at CBRE Vietnam Duong Thuy Dung said that aft...