Old houses reduced in price but still difficult to sell
After many weeks of selling apartments in Tay Mo - Hanoi, Ms. Nguyen Thi Duong (Hanoi) said she had to adjust the selling price lower than initially expected.
I think apartments in this area already have amenities available, it's not difficult to sell. But in the past few months, customers have asked less than before. Some people come to see, paying lower than the advertised price quite deeply. If you want to sell quickly, the homeowner must accept a further discount" - Ms. Duong said.
According to Ms. Duong, some apartments in the same area have decreased by about 150-250 million VND/unit compared to the end of last year, but transactions are still slow. Many buyers go to see many places, compare prices very carefully and are not in a hurry to finalize because they believe that apartment prices have increased too quickly in a short time.
Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, who is selling an apartment in Hoai Duc - Hanoi, said that financial pressure forced him to lower the selling price. Previously, he used a portion of his loan capital to buy an apartment with the expectation that the price would continue to increase. However, when market liquidity slowed down, selling was no longer as easy as before.
I have reduced about 200 million VND compared to the price offered at the end of last year, but customers still bargain more. If I continue to keep it, the monthly loan interest pressure is quite high. And if it is reduced too deeply, there is almost no profit left" - Mr. Duc Anh shared.
New project still anchored at high ground
The Ministry of Construction said that in the first quarter of 2026, the price of new apartments for sale in Hanoi continued to be maintained at a high level. The average selling price of new apartments in Hanoi reached about 128 million VND/m2. The main reasons came from raw material costs, financial costs and increased input land prices, making it difficult for the average price of new houses to decrease.
This price makes it difficult for many real buyers, especially young families, to access new projects. With apartments with an area of about 60-70m2, the total value can be up to billions of VND, not to mention incurred costs such as furniture, service fees, parking and bank loan interest if they have to use financial leverage.
Mr. Tran Minh Anh (from Phu Tho - a person looking to buy an apartment in Hanoi) shared that his family once considered a new project because they wanted a modern house with synchronous amenities. However, after consulting the price, he switched to looking for an apartment that had been handed over a few years ago.
The new house is beautiful but the price is too high, the new apartment opened for sale in the suburbs is also over 100 million VND/m2. With the family's finances, if you buy a new project, you have to borrow a lot, and the pressure to repay debt is great. Therefore, I switched to looking at an older apartment, but the price after the reduction is still not really cheap" - Mr. Minh said.
According to Mr. Minh, many secondary apartments have decreased compared to the peak period, but the total value still exceeds the affordability of most real buyers. This puts buyers in a difficult position: new projects are too expensive, old apartments have decreased in price but still need a large amount of finance.
Mr. Nguyen Trong Dung - an apartment broker in Hanoi, said that the market no longer has the scene of buyers rushing to spend money like the hot growth period. Customers with real housing needs still go to see houses, but the consideration time is longer.
Customers still ask, but closing a transaction is not easy. Many people have money available but wait for prices to decrease further. Some bank borrowers calculate very carefully because the loan interest and the amount paid monthly is not small" - Mr. Dung said.
According to this broker, apartments with clear legal status, good locations, and reasonable prices still have transactions. However, apartments that are advertised higher than the general level or where homeowners do not really need to sell are often difficult to find customers. Conversely, homeowners who are under financial pressure and need to recover money quickly have to accept price reductions, even cutting back on expected profits.
This development shows that the Hanoi apartment market is entering a more selective stage. Buyers are no longer easily accepting all price levels, while sellers in the secondary market must adjust expectations if they want to trade successfully.
However, the fact that some old apartments have decreased in price does not mean that Hanoi apartment prices have become easily accessible. After a strong increase cycle, the price level is still high compared to the income of many households. For real buyers, the problem is not only how much the apartment price decreases, but also the amount of money to borrow, debt repayment ability and long-term living costs after receiving the house.
