Research by Lao Dong reporters shows that, with the rapid growth of the inner-city apartment segment, many people working in Hanoi have chosen to move to the suburbs to buy houses.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong (35 years old, from Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh) informed that when seeing the high price of apartments in the inner city, his family decided to buy a 78m2 apartment for 2.55 billion VND, equivalent to more than 32 million VND/m2 in Hoai Duc district.
"My wife and I both work in Cau Giay district. Although it is about 10km away from our workplace, because of the reasonable price, my family decided to buy this apartment," said Mr. Cuong.
Similarly, Ms. Trinh Thi Nguyet (39 years old, working in Hanoi) informed that with a small amount of savings of about 2 billion VND, her family decided to buy a 60m2 apartment for 2.7 billion VND, equivalent to 46 million VND/m2 in a remote area of Long Bien district to stabilize their lives.
According to Ms. Nguyet, when seeing the price of inner-city apartments increasing, her family did not wait for the price to cool down but borrowed nearly 800 million VND from friends and relatives to buy a house and hire an interior designer.
Recent data from Savills Vietnam Research Department shows that apartment prices for sale in Hanoi are still on the rise. For example, in the third quarter of 2024, the primary selling price was at VND69 million/m2, up 6% compared to the previous quarter and 28% compared to the same period in 2023.
In the secondary market, the average price of apartments in the third quarter of 2024 is VND 51 million/m2, an increase of 10% compared to the previous quarter and 41% compared to 2023.
Also according to Savills Vietnam, in large cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the current housing market lacks supply at reasonable prices as the market share of this segment has decreased from 60% in 2016 to only 35% in 2024, and primary apartments under 2 billion VND/unit have completely disappeared.
Regarding this issue, Ms. Nguyen Hoai An - Director of CBRE Hanoi - commented that currently, apartment products for living and investment in the market are quite diverse, however, the price level is also higher than previous years. Therefore, waiting for housing prices to decrease is not feasible.
According to Ms. Nguyen Hoai An, real estate prices can only decrease when there is excess supply, slow demand growth affecting market liquidity, affecting selling prices, or there are major fluctuations in the macro, financial markets, and economic growth.
Forecasting the upcoming developments of the apartment market, Ms. Nguyen Hoai An said that in 2025, the supply of new apartments could reach over 30,000 units. Prices will not decrease but will not increase as rapidly as in the recent period, possibly only increasing by 5-8% compared to 2024.
