Apartment prices in Hanoi have increased significantly, making many apartment projects no longer within the reach of low- and middle-income people. At the same time, the demand for affordable housing is also increasing, but the number of affordable apartment projects is not meeting the demand in time.
Sharing with Lao Dong, Mr. Nguyen Trung Duc (Ly Nhan, Ha Nam) said that after graduating from school, he has been working in Hanoi for 8 years. Mr. Duc has always been frugal and lives in a cramped rented room in Hoang Mai area. However, in the near future, he wants to get married and plans to continue living in Hanoi to start a business with his wife. Mr. Duc hopes to find an apartment in an inner-city district for convenient commuting. However, Mr. Duc's dream of settling down is becoming more and more distant as real estate prices continue to escalate.
"I searched online and followed brokers to see many old apartments, but it is very rare to find an apartment under 25 million VND/m2 in inner city districts. Not to mention the apartments in newly opened projects that are selling at dizzying prices, in some places up to 80-90 million VND/m2," said Mr. Duc.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh, synthesizing real estate market reports from research units shows that apartment prices have increased from an average of 40 million/m2 in 2022 to more than 70 million/m2 by the end of the third quarter of 2024. There are no more projects on the market priced below 60 million/m2, many mid-range projects even have prices above 100 million VND/m2.
Assessing the apartment segment, Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh - Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Real Estate Brokers (VARS) said that - with the current situation, it is difficult to have affordable housing in the central areas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The reason is that the number of housing projects approved for investment in recent years can only be "counted on the fingers".
In 2023 and early 2024, there will be almost no new projects in the affordable housing segment being implemented, with ongoing real estate projects mainly focusing on the high-end segment.
Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh said that to reduce apartment prices in Hanoi, efforts should be made to speed up the progress of social housing projects. Proactively regulate supply by effectively using planning tools, adjusting planning, and allocating additional clean land funds to help investors implement social housing projects as soon as planning is established.
This expert believes that in the long term, to stabilize the price of apartments in particular and housing products in general, there needs to be strong participation from the State. In particular, it is necessary to continue promoting the development of transport infrastructure, shortening the travel time from satellite areas to the city center, and the supply from the suburbs will reduce housing prices.
