Instead of selling individual homes directly to end-buyers, Vinhomes (VHM) is increasing large-plot transactions with other real estate developers. In the first half of this year, this approach contributed approximately 81% of total real estate sales and about 70% of the company's profit, according to estimates by Vietcap Securities. In contrast, during the same period in 2025, retail sales comprised 80% of the company's revenue. This marks a notable shift in the sales structure of the leading real estate developer.

During a recent "Chat with Portfolio" session with Dragon Capital, Pham Anh Khoi, chief financial officer and investment officer of Vinhomes, stated that the wholesale and retail sales structure depends on each project's development cycle. In the initial phases, the company typically sells large plots or project components to capable domestic and international developers. As a project progresses into subsequent stages, the product structure and sales methods may change.

According to Khoi, selling large plots offers several benefits to the developer. Primarily, this approach helps the company generate cash flow earlier, thereby reducing capital pressure during project development. Instead of undertaking the entire product development process, from construction to sales and handover to individual customers, the company can transfer part of the work to partners.

Wholesale sales also help distribute risks throughout the development process. For large-scale urban areas, developers must mobilize significant resources for infrastructure, construction, and operational organization. Selling component projects or large land plots to development partners helps allocate implementation responsibilities, while also enabling parties to target different customer segments.

Indeed, this change in sales structure has impacted profit margins. According to Vietcap Securities, Vinhomes' core real estate gross profit margin in Quarter II reached approximately 74.9%, higher than 54.1% in the previous quarter and 35.1% in the same period last year. Analysts suggest that the higher proportion of large-plot transactions contributed to this improvement.

Vinhomes selects partners based on their implementation capacity, financial capability, and domestic or international reputation. According to Khoi, partners can participate in developing product lines that Vinhomes does not directly focus on, thereby complementing the overall product structure of the urban area.

"Vinhomes is not just a typical real estate developer, but a master plan community builder", the company's chief financial officer said.

With this model, the involvement of multiple partners in urban development is common. Partners include not only sub-developers but also banks, investors, and customers within the company's ecosystem. This approach is evident in large urban areas such as Vinhomes Grand Park (TP HCM), Smart City, and Ocean Park (Hanoi). Some components are developed with partners, for example, the Komorebi subdivision in Vu Yen involves Nomura.

However, specific cooperation models can vary in product scope, development rights, and responsibilities of each party. Therefore, not every large-plot transaction signifies a complete transfer of the entire project.

While potentially generating early cash, selling large plots does not guarantee that the entire transaction value is immediately recognized as revenue or profit. The timing of recognition depends on contract terms, implementation progress, and related accounting conditions. By the end of Quarter II, Vinhomes' unrecognized real estate sales contracts totaled 196,813 billion dong, an increase of 42% year-on-year. This represents the value already sold but not yet fully recognized as revenue according to handover progress or corresponding conditions.

The profitability of each transaction also depends on the selling price, land costs, infrastructure, construction, and contract terms. Therefore, it cannot be broadly assumed that wholesale sales always yield higher profit margins than retail sales across all projects or stages.

Pham Anh Khoi, chief financial officer and investment officer of Vinhomes. *Photo: Dragon Capital*

Choosing between wholesale and retail sales is fundamentally a challenge of capital and resource allocation. If a company sells individual units, it can maintain more control over the product, selling price, and project value realization, but it also bears ongoing implementation, sales, and consumption risks. Conversely, selling large plots can provide early cash and reduce the amount of work to be done internally, but the company also shares a portion of the business opportunities with partners.

Khoi stated that Vinhomes evaluates capital allocation decisions based on their ability to create the best value for shareholders at any given time. Resources may be allocated to project development, additional land acquisition, construction and product handover, or profit distribution, depending on specific conditions.

With strong sales growth in the first half of the year, large-plot sales help Vinhomes accelerate the commercialization of large-scale projects. However, as Khoi explained, transactions with sub-developers are often more prevalent in the initial stages, while retail sales tend to increase as projects enter strong business phases. Therefore, the high proportion of wholesale sales in the first half of the year remains cyclical, rather than marking a long-term shift in how Vinhomes allocates capital and develops products.

Tat Dat