Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial housing demand in Vietnam

PurposeThe study aimed to determine the impact rate of the COVID-19 pandemic on Vietnam's commercial housing demand as compared to other factors and proposes several policies to increase housing demand as a result of the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study randomly investigated 400 homebuyers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The structural equation model, SPSS20.0 and AMOS24.0 software were used to determine the impact of factor groups on housing demand.FindingsThe COVID-19 pandemic has a second impact after housing prices on commercial housing demand, followed by 10 other factors. The impact rates of factors range from 3.45% to 15.74%.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has only determined the extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing demand in Hanoi city, so it is necessary to continue to study this issue in other provinces and cities of Vietnam. The proposed research method would be consulted when it is necessary to determine the factors affecting housing demand in other countries around the world.Practical implicationsThe study proposes some implications related to commercial housing demand in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic such as fighting the epidemic, supporting housing investors; reducing loan interest rates; increasing the time to pay for housing; supporting enterprises to stabilize production; strengthening real estate brokerage and carrying out administrative procedures online.Social implicationsInvestors and the State can use the implications to make the right housing decisions to provide housing for people and maintain social stability.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper presents for the first time a method to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial housing demand in Vietnam. The paper also points out some specific factors affecting commercial housing demand that are different from those shown in previous research.