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The relevance of factors affecting real estate investment decisions for post
pandemic time

Article  in  International Journal of Business and Globalisation · November 2022

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2022.10056378

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Int. J. Business and Globalisation, Vol. X, No. Y, xxxx 1

The relevance of factors affecting real estate

investment decisions for post pandemic time

Nguyen Minh Ngoc

Ho Chi Minh City University of Finance – Marketing,
778, Nguyen Kiem, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Email: nmmgoc@ufm.edu.vn

Le Doan Minh Duc

University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City,
59C, Nguyen Dinh Chieu, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Email: ducldm@ueh.edu.vn

Nguyen Hoang Tien*

Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry,
140 Le Trong Tan, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Email: tiennh@hufi.edu.vn
*Corresponding author

Vu Minh Hieu
Van Lang University,
69/68 Dang Thuy Tram, Binh Thanh District,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Email: hieu.vm@vlu.edu.vn

Abstract: Real estate is always one of the most important markets and
investment channels of many ordinary people and organisations. In recent
years, when the pandemic affected negatively all the aspects of socio-economic
life, paradoxically Vietnam’s real estate market was still growing. Why do
people and organisations decide to invest in real estate assets during the
pandemic, what factors have influenced their investment decisions are very
critical questions needed to be addressed to understand the economy and some
of its specific sectors. The article used a mix of qualitative and quantitive
methods to answer these questions. Specifically, the research results show that
the main factors include: institutions and laws, economic factors, cultural and
community, other markets, and investment opportunity. Finally, the authors
propose reasonable policies to make the real estate market develop sustainably
in the future, questioning at the same time the relevance of those factors also
for the post pandemic time.
Keywords: investment decision; personal investment; real estate; pandemic.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ngoc, N.M., Duc, L.D.M.,
Tien, N.H. and Hieu, V.M. (xxxx) ‘The relevance of factors affecting real
estate investment decisions for post pandemic time’, Int. J. Business and
Globalisation, Vol. X, No. Y, pp.xxx–xxx.

Copyright © 20XX Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

2 N.M. Ngoc et al.

Biographical notes: Nguyen Minh Ngoc is a Lecturer and researcher at the Ho Comment [y1]: Author: Please provide
Chi Minh City University of Finance – Marketing, Vietnam. up to 100 words of brief career history per
author.
Le Doan Minh Duc is a lecturEr and researcher at University of Economics Ho
Comment [y2]: Author: Please provide
Chi Minh City, Vietnam. up to 100 words of brief career history per
author.
Nguyen Hoang Tien is a Lecturer and researcher at Ho Chi Minh City
University of Food Industry, Vietnam. Comment [y3]: Author: Please provide
up to 100 words of brief career history per
author.
Vu Minh Hieu is a Lecturer and researcher at Van Lang University, Vietnam.
Comment [y4]: Author: Please provide
up to 100 words of brief career history per
author.

1 Introduction

The real estate market is one of the markets that recorded remarkable changes and
constant growth over pandemic time. According to the Real Estate Association, the
contribution of the real estate market to GDP in 2019 was 7.62%. If we include the
indirect impact on the construction industry, the percentage of real estate’s contribution
could be over 10.49% of GDP, and adding the fact of being also the main investment
capital, the contribution of real estate accounts for up to 13.6% GDP (Nguyen and Mai,
2019). When the real estate industry grows, it not only benefits itself, but also creates
spillover effects to the national economy. Vietnam’s real estate market is considered to
have experienced a period of strong and resilient growth in recent years. Despite
experiencing four phases of pandemic, the real estate market quickly recovered again
each time it was over. The reason behind this is that, in contrast to developed nations,
Vietnamese people share a strong culture of ownership and real estate is the most popular
and preferred channel for that. In addition, China’s real estate market has faced many
complicated problems related to the crisis of large real estate group Evergrande with huge
debts of more than USD300 billion. With the risk of collapse, this also partly affects the
Vietnamese real estate market, as well as the psychology of individual investors (Ha,
2021). In addition to the above two reasons, there are also many other factors that affect
individual real estate investment decisions during the pandemic. Therefore, it is important
to understand the factors affecting individual real estate investment decisions and their
relevance in the post pandemic future to predict the development trend of the real estate
market in the long run.
The real estate market and investment focus of this paper sets a pioneering trend for
research articles published in International Journal of Business and Globalisation as the
real estate business is globalising across the world market regardless of the level of
national socio-economic development and the real estate market could be a global safe
haven during all the economic tough times, not only in this current pandemic time (Tien
et al., 2022b, 2022a).
The principal goal of this research is to identify the factors that impact real estate
investment decisions during pandemic, assess their importance and relevance also for the
post pandemic time. Based on that, the authors offer some interesting solutions and
recommendations for investment decision makers and policy makers regarding real estate
market development. As per requirements of a traditional research paper, the structure of
this article consists of following consecutive sections: introduction, theoretical basis,
research methods, research findings and conclusions.
 The relevance of factors affecting real estate investment decisions 3

2 Theoretical basis on individual real estate investment decision

2.1 Impact factors on individual real estate investment decision

Investment decision is a decision that an organisation or an individual is to take after
analysing the expected perspective, financial and non-financial performance in the future.
According to Investopedia, individual investors are individuals who invest capital to
make investments, buy and sell real estate for themselves, not for a company or another
organisation, they can be professional or non-professional investors. Factors affecting
their, individual customers’ real estate investment decisions include (Nguyen, 2013,
2014, 2021):
 First, the cultural factor: Cultural factors are divided into: culture, subculture and
social class. Culture is the most fundamental determinant of human desires and
behaviour. As people grow up, they gradually accumulate values, perceptions, and
behaviours through family and other cultures. Therefore, people from different
cultural areas will have different shopping decisions. A subculture is a smaller
element than a culture that gives its members more distinct characteristics and social
integration. Different subcultures create different market segments. Social class is
the most obvious manifestation of human society. This stratification can be formal, a
peer-to-peer system whereby members of different castes are trained to take on
certain roles. Social classes are relatively homogeneous and stable parts of society
that are arranged in certain hierarchies and consist of members who share common
values and interests. Differences in social class will create consumers with different
needs expressed in investment decisions, thereby creating a difference between one
social class and another.
 Second, the social factor: Social factors also have a big impact on real estate values.
For areas where the population density suddenly increases due to mechanical
population growth, the value of real estate there will increase due to the increased
demand for housing in the market, but the supply will not change. Besides, other
factors such as education level, quality of healthcare, quality of education, social
security are also factors that increase or decrease the value of real estate. Along with
that, the interaction between members of the same family and people around also
affects individual real estate investment decisions.
 Third, the personal factor: Individual factors such as investor’s financial potential,
age, occupation, risk appetite all affect individual investors’ investment decisions.
 Fourth, the psychological factor: Psychological factors such as: herd psychology,
motives, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes all affect the investment decisions of
individual investors.
 Fifth, the profit factor: In the past to the present, in Vietnam in particular and many
countries around the world, although in different forms, real estate has always been
an investment channel that brings a lot of profit that many people are interested in. In
real estate investment, the return is derived from the increase in the price of real
estate and is realised through the real thing: direct investment or through a third party
(investment in a real estate company).
4 N.M. Ngoc et al.

2.2 World research review

Guerts and Jaffe (1996) in their paper ‘Risk and real estate investment: an international
perspective’ have provided an institutional research framework consisting of four main
groups of factors classified as follows: risk assessment variables (political, economic,
credit, financial risks and BERI ratings); social variables (average life expectancy,
illiteracy, quality of life and home ownership); foreign investment variables (level of
control, and preferential treatment for foreign investors); ownership variables (safety,
bribery and corruption, business innovation and investment activities, and intellectual
property rights). The contribution of this study theoretically is that it has introduced a list
of risks that investors need to grasp in order to implement appropriate policies and
measures, business and investment activities.
Lee (2001) in his paper ‘The risks of investing in the real estate markets of the Asian
region’ also has given his attention to the risk factors that investors need to pay attention
to when investing in foreign real estate, including: investment risk (change in level of
profit), currency risk (change in exchange rate), political risk (capital entry barriers,
taxes, land grabs, and foreign exchange controls) and institutional risk (market maturity,
size, liquidity, regulatory and market information).
Kueh and Chiew (2005) in their unpublished research report on ‘Factors influencing
house buyers’ purchasing decision’ have shown that the decision of home buyers is
influenced by factors: financial situation, home location, area security, public amenities.
Kueh and Chiew argue that demographic factors have no influence on home buying
decisions and house price is the most important factor affecting home buying decisions.
Alaghbari et al. (2009) research results in their article ‘Housing shortage for
low-income in Yemen: causes and suggestions’ show that housing types such as
condominiums, shared-walled houses, and detached houses are one of the important
factors influencing buyer choice.
Yam and McGreal (2010) in their article ‘House-buyers’ expectations with relation to
corporate social responsibility for Malaysian housing’ have identified factors affecting
the decision to buy a house including: amusement facilities (parks, sports facilities and
sports clubs), habitat (security features and green space), home location (location near
work, school, supermarket), house characteristics (type of house, design), and seller
reputation (customers’ sense of ethics and corporate social responsibility). Research
results show that the majority of homebuyers in Johor Bahru expect housing
developments that offer features such as greener spaces, theme parks and amenities,
security features and infrastructure. However, the non-wealthy are more sensitive to
house prices.
Opoku and Abdul (2010) in their article ‘Housing preferences and attribute
importance among low-income consumers in Saudi Arabia’ have studied the factors
affecting the decision to buy a house including: location, financial situation, private living
space, interior design, exterior design, outdoor space.
Lieser and Groh (2011a, 2011b) in their research ‘The attractiveness of 66 countries
for institutional real estate investments: a composite index approach’ have provided a
model to determine the relationship between factors affecting real estate investment. The
model introduces the dependent variable as commercial real estate investment through
groups of independent variables as economic activity (economic scale, GDP per capita,
GDP growth, labour force, inflation, and change due to new technology), investment
opportunities (real estate demand, degree of urbanisation, urban population, quality of
 The relevance of factors affecting real estate investment decisions 5

infrastructure, and development of service sector), capacity of capital markets (stock

market liquidity, IPO market, M&A market, credit market, private equity opportunities
and REIT market), regulatory framework (investor protection and title security),
administrative procedures and regulatory restrictions (taxes, building permits, property
and registration), socio-cultural and political environment (human development and
crime rate). The results show that the independent variables have the same direction as
the dependent variable.
Shyue et al. (2011) in their research entitled ‘House purchasing decisions: a case
study of residents of Klang Valley, Malaysia’ proposed 7Ps marketing factors affecting
the decision to buy a home including products and services (home characteristics, private
living space and surroundings), home location (location near work, near market, near
shopping centre, near main road, near school, near friends and family), prices (house
prices, interest rates, loan costs and ability to pay instalments), promotions, processes,
evidence, and people. The results show that the process, factual evidence, product Comment [y5]: Author: Please confirm
(exterior features, interior of the house, private living spaces and surroundings) and home if the sentence can be deleted due to
deletion of Shyue et al. (2011) as you
location (accessibility) are important factors influencing the decision to buy a house. instructed. Otherwise, kindly please
The following research was done in Vietnam’s real estate market reality. We present reconstruct this sentence.
several most important of them in order to show Vietnamese specificity in relation to the
topic and objects of research in this paper.
In the research project ‘Key factors affecting house purchase decision of customers in
Vietnam’, Phan (2012) has studied the factors affecting the decision to buy a house,
including: house characteristics (building structure, construction, interior and exterior
design, house type, build quality, and legal status), private living space (kitchen area,
living room area, number of bedrooms, and number of bathrooms), financial situation
(factors of house price, mortgage ability, solvency, loan interest rate, income, payment
time, and registration fee), distance (factors related to location) location such as location
near work office, near school, near living place, near main road, near market, near
shopping centre, and near hospital), and living environment (quality factors of
infrastructure, floors, surrounding neighbours, surrounding landscape, area security
situation, ambient noise, and pollution of the surrounding environment). The study
surveyed 263 people and the results show that there is a strong positive influence between
the two factors ‘living space’ and ‘distance’ on customers’ decision to buy houses. Three
factors with a weaker positive influence are ‘house characteristics’, ‘financial situation’
and ‘living environment’. The study also shows that demographic factors (gender, age,
marital status and education level) have no influence on customers’ decision to buy a
home.
The study ‘Factors affecting customers’ decision to buy a house in Ho Chi Minh City’
of Vo (2013) has contributed to the research of the housing market, providing insight into
the factors influencing the home buying decision of customers in Ho Chi Minh City. The
results of this study show that there are seven factors that have the strongest influence on
customers’ home buying decisions, respectively: financial situation, actual evidence,
living space, location, home decoration, house design and architecture, living
environment, and public facilities. However, those who want to buy a house built on their
own are more concerned about the price of the house, the security situation in the area,
the location near the market and workplace, and public amenities more than those who
want to buy an apartment. Regarding the need to buy a house for each target group, the
6 N.M. Ngoc et al.

survey results show that there is not much difference in terms of gender and education
level.
Table 1 Summary of research results of domestic and abroad

Authors (year) Research results in terms of factors (variables) impacting

1 Guerts and Jaffe Risk assessment variables (political, economic, credit, financial risks
(1996) and BERI ratings), social variables (average life expectancy, illiteracy,
quality of life, home ownership), foreign investment variables (level of
control, preferential treatment for foreign investors), and ownership
variables (safety, bribery and corruption, business innovation and
investment activities, intellectual property rights)
2 Lee (2001) Investment risk (change in level of profit), currency risk (change in
exchange rate), political risk (capital entry barriers, taxes, land grabs,
and foreign exchange controls), and institutional risk (market maturity,
size, liquidity, regulatory and market information)
3 Kueh and Chiew Financial situation, home location, home price, area security, and
(2005) public amenities
4 Alaghbari et al. Housing types such as condominiums, shared-walled houses, and
(2009) detached houses
5 Yam and Amusement facilities (parks, sports facilities, sports clubs), habitat
McGreal (2010) (security features, green space), home location (location near work,
school, supermarket), house characteristics (type of house, design), and
seller reputation (customers’ sense of ethics, corporate social
responsibility)
6 Opoku and Location, financial situation, private living space, interior design,
Abdul (2010) exterior design, and outdoor space
7 Lieser and Groh Economic activity, investment opportunities, capacity of capital
(2011a, 2011b) markets, regulatory framework, administrative procedures and
regulatory restrictions, and socio-cultural and political environment
8 Shyue et al. Products and services, home location, prices, promotions, processes,
(2011) evidence, and people
9 Phan (2012) House characteristics, private living space, financial situation, distance
to amenities, and living environment
10 Vo (2013) Financial situation, actual evidence, living space, location, home
decoration, house design and architecture, living environment, and
public facilities
11 Doan (2013) Legal political factors, related to the real estate market, economic
factors of the locality, real estate investment opportunity, and cultural
and social factors.
12 Tran (2013) Legal system and policy, financial factors, general factors of the
economy, behavioural finance, and economic integration
Source: Compiled by authors
Doan (2013) in his study ‘Analysis of factors affecting the decision to invest in real estate
in Ben Tre Province’ using the method of reliability analysis (RA), exploratory analysis
factors (EFA), regression analysis of correlation matrix, test the fit of the model, via
conducted survey, has selected the important factors affecting the investment decisions of
investors in order of importance based on standardised correlation coefficient such as:
POL (legal political factors), MAR (related to the real estate market), ECO (economic
 The relevance of factors affecting real estate investment decisions 7

factors of the locality), OPP (real estate investment opportunity), and CUL (cultural and
social factors).
Tran (2013) in his the study ‘Factors affecting the real estate investment decision of
individual customers in Ho Chi Minh City’ has surveyed customers with real estate
investment needs and discovered factors affecting their decisions such as: legal system
and policy (land management policy, credit policy and infrastructure development
policies); financial factors (interest rates, exchange rates, financial ability of investors,
stock market, profitability of real estate and ability to raise capital); general factors of the
economy (inflation, per capita income and GDP growth); behavioural finance (heredity,
risk preference and egotism syndrome); economic integration (demand to expand
production and business, development of technology and real estate management).
In summary, based on the combined results from previous studies presented in
Table 1, we have drawn out a number of factors affecting consumers’ decision to buy a
home that previous studies have concluded. They embrace legal and institutional factors,
economic factors, socio-cultural factors, technological factors, and personal factors of
investors.

3 Research method and model

3.1 Research method

The article has used both qualitative and quantitative research methods combined,
exploits data and information, and conducted research on factors affecting individual real
estate investment decisions. Collected opinions from diverse respondents are to build and
calibrate a scale of factors that affect individual real estate investment decisions during
the pandemic period. In addition, the authors also conducted primary research. That is via
questionnaires with a five-level Likert scale and surveys are conducted to collect
information from customers who performed real estate transactions at some real estate
exchanges in Ho Chi Minh City. The sample of the survey is preferred to be chosen
non-probably. The data gathered for research were processed using the statistical
software SPSS 20 (Hoang and Chu, 2008).

3.2 Research model

3.2.1 Research models
To assess the impact of factors on individual investors’ real estate investment decisions in
Ho Chi Minh City, the authors consider the following factors: institutional and legal
factors, economic factors, socio-cultural factors, technological factors, and personal
factors of investors in the context of the pandemic.

3.2.2 Research hypotheses

We also have put forward several following hypotheses for a verification:
H1 Legal and institutional factors affect individual customers’ real estate investment
decisions.
8 N.M. Ngoc et al.

H2 General factors of the economy affect individual customers’ real estate investment
decisions.
H3 Socio-cultural factors affect individual customers’ real estate investment decisions.
H4 Other market factors affect individual customers’ real estate investment decisions.
H5 Business opportunity factors affect individual customers’ real estate investment
decisions.
H6 The pandemic affects individual customers’ real estate investment decisions.
Analysing theoretical models and synthesising impact factors, we can see that the
important factors affecting individual real estate investment decisions are: institutional
and legal, economic, cultural and social. In addition, on one hand, a number of studies
similar, such as that of Doan (2013) have shown that other market factors and profitable
opportunities are factors that greatly influence individual real estate investment decisions.
On the other hand, in the context that the pandemic has profoundly affected the life of
people in general and real estate investors in particular, this factor is also an important
one to consider.

3.2 Research procedure

The quantitative analysis followed by qualitative synthesis conducted in this studies
consists of the following steps:
 check the reliability of the scale through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient
 exploratory factor analysis measuring KMO coefficients
 correlation analysis and multivariable linear regression.
These steps are developed further in the next section presenting research results of each
of quantitative analysis phases.

4 Research results

4.1 Check the reliability of the scale through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient
4.1.1 Evaluation of reliability by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for independent
variables
The value of Cronbach’s alpha of the variable political and legal factors is 0.977, greater
than 0.8. Therefore, it can be concluded that this is a good scale that can be used in
research.
The Cronbach’s alpha value of the macroeconomic factor variable is 0.955, greater
than 0.8. Therefore, it can be concluded that this is a good scale that can be used in
research.
The Cronbach’s alpha value of the other market factor variable is 0.971, greater than
0.8. Therefore, it can be concluded that this is a good scale that can be used in research.
Cronbach’s alpha value of cultural and social factor variables is 0.95, greater than 0.8.
Therefore, it can be concluded that this is a good scale that can be used in research.
 The relevance of factors affecting real estate investment decisions 9

The Cronbach’s alpha value of the investment opportunity factor variable is 0.859,
greater than 0.8. Therefore, it can be concluded that this is a good scale that can be used
in research.
The Cronbach’s alpha value of the COVID-19 epidemic factor variable is 0.937,
greater than 0.8. Therefore, it can be concluded that this is a good scale that can be used
in research.

4.1.2 Evaluation of reliability by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the dependent

variable
Cronbach’s alpha value of investment decision variable is 0.999, greater than 0.8.
Therefore, it can be concluded that this is a good scale that can be used in research.
Performing Cronbach’s alpha analysis shows that all variables in the model are qualified
and qualified to carry out research in practice.

4.2 Exploratory factor analysis

The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) coefficient of the group of independent variables is
0.858 > 0.5. Therefore, a large KMO coefficient that is significant for factor analysis is
appropriate. Factor loading coefficients of all variables are greater than 0.5 to ensure that
the values of observations have practical value in the research. According to the test of
Total variance explained for independent variables, we see that the component value
stops at 6. That shows that the division into six groups of variables is completely
appropriate. Performing exploratory factor analysis EFA shows that all variables in the
model are qualified and qualified to carry out research in practice.

4.3 Correlation analysis and multivariable linear regression

Regression model:
INV  β 0  β1  POL  β 2  ECO  β 3  MAR  β 4  CUL
β5  OPP  β 6  COV  ε
The ANOVA analysis gives us the results of the F-test to evaluate the hypothesis of
appropriateness of the regression model. The F-test sig. value is 0.000 < 0.05, so the
regression model is suitable. The regression models give us the results of R-squared
(R-square) and adjusted R-squared (adjusted R-square) to evaluate the rightness of fit of
the model. The adjusted R-squared value of 0.788 shows that the independent variables
included in the regression analysis affect 78.8% of the variation of the dependent
variable, the remaining 21.2% are due to out-of-model variables and errors.
From the regression coefficients, we can build two normalised and unnormalised
regression equations in the following order:
INV  β 0  0.27  POL  0.223  ECO  0.209  MAR  0.234  CUL
0.072  OPP  0.104  COV  ε
INV  0.445  0.26  POL  0.217  ECO  0.214  MAR  0.249
CUL  0.066  OPP  0.113  COV  ε
10 N.M. Ngoc et al.

The model explains 78.8% of the impact of the variable real estate investment decision of
individual customers, this is a rather high rate in empirical research.
The 0 has a negative value indicating that there is always a constant (some random
factor) that has a negative impact on the real estate investment decisions of individual
customers in general and individual customers on the internet, in Ho Chi Minh City in
particular, regardless of the evolution of the factors being studied.
 Political and legal factors (POL): Political and legal factors with a coefficient of
0.26 mean that when other factors do not change, the variable political and legal
factors increase by 1 unit. The variable real estate investment decision of individual
customers in Ho Chi Minh City increased by 0.26 units.
 Macroeconomic factors (ECO): Macroeconomic factors with a coefficient of 0.217
means that when other factors do not change, the variable macroeconomic factor
increases by 1 unit, the variable that determines investment Real estate investment of
individual customers increased by 0.217 units.
 Other market factors (MAR): Other market factors with a coefficient of 0.214 means
that when other factors do not change, other market factors increase by 1 unit, then
the real estate investment decision variable individual customers’ assets increased by
0.214 units.
 Cultural and social factors (CUL): Cultural and social factors with a coefficient of
0.249 mean that when other factors remain unchanged, the variable cultural and
social factors increases by 1 unit, the variable changes. Real estate investment
decisions of individual customers increased by 0.249 units.
 Investment opportunity factor (OPP): The investment opportunity factor with a
coefficient of 0.066 means that when other factors do not change, the variable
investment opportunity factor increases by 1 unit, the investment decision variable.
Real estate investment of individual customers increased by 0.066 units.
 The pandemic factor (COV): Research results have confirmed that the variable
pandemic factor has a positive impact on the real estate investment decision of
individual customers. With a coefficient of 0.113, it means that when other factors
do not change, the variable pandemic factor increases by 1 unit, the variable real
estate investment decision of individual customers increases by 0.113 units.
Based on the analysis of these factors, the following conclusions can be drawn:
 Basically, the pandemic does not change the basic factors affecting real estate
investment decisions such as: politics, law; macroeconomic; other markets;
socio-cultural; and investment opportunities. These factors still have the same
influence on the investment decisions of individual investors despite the pandemic.
 The pandemic has affected individuals’ real estate investment decisions such as: fear
of a decline in the market, more interest in real estate investment because they do not
know what to do in this period and because they see all types of businesses declined,
fearing that rising inflation would devalue the currency.
 The relevance of factors affecting real estate investment decisions 11

5 Conclusions

5.1 Recommendations for the real estate individual investors

1 First, develop investment goals and plans: From the very beginning, investors need
to set goals for their investment, real estate investing can be expected to bring
financial freedom, a legacy to bequeathed to the next generation as our parents left
us. The most important thing here is the investment mindset, real estate investors
must have an investment mindset, investment goals and plans, portfolio of types of
property, keep or sell strategy, not just buy a property and leave it alone, because that
is too easy.
2 Second, invest in line with principles: The principle of 90% reason and 10% emotion
is an important rule in investing. This is a reality that many real estate investors
today often encounter. Since there is no goal in the first place, defining a clear
purpose when buying real estate leads to being too emotional when buying, and
emotions have a very short term, leading to many mistakes that cannot be reversed.
Therefore, when investing in real estate, it is necessary to ask questions to make
everything clear.
3 Third, portfolio restructuring: Restructuring an individual real estate portfolio is like
restructuring a company, what are good needs to be promoted and what is not good
needs to be eliminated. In the past, most investors kept their money in two main
types of real estate: townhouses, land plots, and then apartments and resort real
estate. In fact, over the past time, there have been many new types of real estate,
what to buy and keep is also a difficult choice, and for each type of real estate, there
are different properties, what to live in, what to bring to life a money value, which
gives us a sense of luxury. Therefore, the authors recommend investors to restructure
their portfolio according to Table 2.
Table 2 Recommendations for individual decisions on real estate portfolio restructuring

Type of
Apartments Street houses Land plots Resort properties
property
Action Sell See cash flow is it Land for living: for Hold long-term,
possible to increase sale commercial land serve family on
the price again? plots: keep vacation
Source: Authors’
4 Fourth, learn the real estate cycle: The most important key of real estate investing,
only understanding the cycle helps us to buy and sell at the right time to bring high
returns, safety for our investments. The authors divide the types of cycles in real
estate as: political cycle, real estate cycle, the land cycle, project cycle and broker
cycle.
5 Fifth, restructure assets and individual investment portfolios according to the
following criteria:
 Buy real estate with usage value, limit investment in real estate with increased
value.
12 N.M. Ngoc et al.

 Buying real estate in low-lying areas, where land prices do not, have not
increased too much in recent times. At the same time, real estate needs to have
an authentic reason to increase prices.
 Increase investment time from 2–4 years.
 Limit borrowing.
 Sell properties that have increased sharply, and have no use value. At the same
time, only keep the land with real potential and develop infrastructure right
away.

5.2 Solutions for the real estate market managers and policy makers
1 Firstly, maintain economic development and ensure macroeconomic stability:
 Management agencies need to be proactive in economic development strategy,
associated with urban development strategy, consider urban development
strategy, real estate development as a part of economic development strategy in
the society.
 Continuing to maintain the economic growth rate; simplify administrative
procedures; create an attractive investment environment, attracting foreign
investors; accelerate the review of projects in order to speed up the supply of
goods in the market.
 Therefore, the immediate solution can be implemented, such as allowing
commercial housing development projects, urban investment projects in
localities that have not used up to 20% of the land fund reserved for housing
construction to invest in building technical infrastructure and low-cost
commercial housing.
2 Second, perfect the policy mechanism:
 Localities need to urgently review, shorten the review time, soon approve, grant
and adjust housing projects, real estate projects that have met the conditions
prescribed by law; focus on promoting development to increase the supply of
social housing for low-income people in urban areas, industrial park workers,
and affordable commercial housing for middle-income people; adjusting the
housing and real estate market structure to suit the needs of the market.
 Develop measures to manage and prevent the division, ‘subdivision and sale of
plots’ in areas where investment is not permitted and lacks infrastructure;
strengthen control over the operation of real estate trading floors, organisations
and individuals practicing real estate brokerage; correct the act of buying and
selling changing hands many times, ‘blowing prices’ causing disturbances in
real estate market information.
 Continue to review, research and perfect relevant legal policies to remove
overlaps and obstacles in legal procedures, create an open mechanism for the
real estate market to develop stably, sane and healthy. Among those difficulties,
the most important thing is still to synchronise the amendments between the
laws on land, housing and real estate business. If it is not clarified and
synchronised, it will continue to have to be corrected forever and the same is for
and guiding decrees.
 The relevance of factors affecting real estate investment decisions 13

 Establish a specialised agency capable and capable of receiving and handling

problems under the government’s competence in order to assist localities in
removing difficulties and obstacles in investment approval procedures for
projects; urge localities to speed up the approval of investment procedures for
real estate projects; handle localities that do not actively support development
units, to backlog and prolong many documents and procedures for real estate
investment projects.
 While there is no real estate development fund, bond issuance is the best channel
to raise capital. With large, reputable enterprises, they issue bonds to raise
capital and to reduce risks for businesses. Therefore, there is still a need for
regulations on bonds to help businesses develop stably.
3 Third, build a land information and data system:
 Implement solutions to make the real estate market transparent and stimulate
investment. Specifically: building a national database system of information on
the registration and performance of real estate transactions; complete the
establishment of the national electronic portal on urban planning; researching
and perfecting regulations on the ‘house price index’ to contribute to
transparency and investment orientation in the real estate market.
 Researching and applying the achievements of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 in
the real estate business, contributing to attracting customers and increasing
demand for real estate products based on the application of artificial intelligence
technology, big data into real estate management – investment – construction –
brokerage and consulting activities.
 It is necessary to disclose data on real estate projects that are approved for
investment, local land use plans and master plans, projects that are allowed to be
traded on the market, and real estate price fluctuations.

5.3 Limitations and directions for future research

5.3.1 Limitations
This article has carried out research review and finally presented the most important
factors affecting individual investors’ real estate investment decisions during the
pandemic. Moreover, as for research articles, we have also conducted our original
empirical research using mix-method (a quantitative and qualitative method combined).
As a result, we have proposed the above mentioned adequate recommendations and
solutions. The most serious limitation is that due to the limit of time and resources we
could not scan all the literature that we have gathered but only the important part of it.

5.3.2 Directions for future research

There may be questions from readers as to whether these factors will still be relevant
once the pandemic is over. Historically, there have been many consecutive and/or parallel
shocks of different specificity and nature that have mostly negatively impacted the
development of the world economy. However, each shock has different characteristics,
occurring with different intensities, in different time periods, no shock is the same. In
14 N.M. Ngoc et al.

addition to the current pandemic that slowly comes to the end, the Russia-Ukraine war is
also creating shocks to the markets in general and the real estate market in particular.
According to the authors’ opinion, the factors identified and analysed in the article are
still valuable (impact) in the near future, after the pandemic has passed, but the intensity,
the scope and the direction of their impact may change and need to be revised to
formulate new solutions and recommendations. This is also an interesting research
direction for scientists related to real estate investment in the future.

Acknowledgements

This research is partly funded by Van Lang University; Ho Chi Minh City University of
Food Industry, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, and Ho Chi Minh City
University of Finance – Marketing.

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