According to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper in late March, although many items in the Experts' collective housing area on Hill 79, Huu Nghi Ward, Hoa Binh City (Hoa Binh Province) have shown signs of deterioration, the buying and selling market here is still vibrant. Apartments with prices of about 100 million VND attract the attention of many people, despite the old state of the project.
Ms. Thu Nguyet - a resident of Chuyen area, Huu Nghi ward, Hoa Binh city - has just put up for sale her old apartment. Sharing about the post, she said she wanted to transfer a 40m2 apartment for 100 million VND, equivalent to about 2.5 million VND/m2.
"The collective apartment has a paper area of 40m2 but the actual usable area is up to 45m2 because my family has renovated the tiger cage as a place to live and store things," said Ms. Nguyet.
According to Ms. Nguyet, all apartments in the Experts' collective housing area do not have a land use right certificate, if they are bought and sold, it is just a handwritten document and a house rental contract transfer with the management company. After buying, the management company still costs 100,000 - 500,000 VND per month depending on the building, apartment area and floor.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Tien - a real estate broker with many years of experience in Hoa Binh City - said: "Because they were built more than 40 years ago, this deterioration of apartments is inevitable. However, with reasonable renovation by the owner, many apartments can still become comfortable, meeting the needs of modern living".
According to Mr. Tien, single apartments with an area of about 38-40m2 have prices ranging around 100 million VND, while double apartments with an area of 6870m2 have prices ranging from 200-350 million VND. The price difference depends on whether the old owner left the furniture or not as well as the cost of previous repairs and renovations.
"Due to their prime location near the center and affordable prices, apartments like this, although degraded, are still of interest to many people, mainly young families and low-income people.
Many people also see these collective apartments as an investment channel. With a price of 100 million VND, they can buy back, repair basically and then rent or resell at a higher price. If that area has a plan to upgrade or clear in the future, the possibility of earning a profit from buying these collective apartments is also very large, Mr. Tien shared.
Mr. Dinh Anh Hoang - Chairman of Huu Nghi Ward People's Committee - said that the Experts' collective housing area was once reserved for Soviet experts during the construction of the Hoa Binh Hydropower project. Up to now, the Expert area is under the management of Hoa Binh Housing and Construction Development Investment Joint Stock Company.
In reality, apartment transactions are just a form of house rental contract transfer, which makes management work difficult and has many shortcomings that need to be resolved, Mr. Hoang informed.
