In the early days of 2026, reporters' records in urban areas such as Picenza Riverside, Elite Hill, Shining City... - expected to create a modern face for the central city of Son La province - are falling into a desolate scene.
According to records, many urban areas have basically completed infrastructure, roads are spacious, houses are built synchronously, but the number of households coming to live is only counted on the fingers of one hand.
In Picenza Riverside Son La urban area (Chieng An ward), the project is invested by Picenza Vietnam Group Joint Stock Company, with a scale of more than 22.3ha, including types of land plots, townhouses, shophouses and villas.
Although advertised with a system of synchronous amenities such as commercial centers, hotels, parks, sports areas..., reality shows that most of the adjacent houses, villas, and shophouses are still vacant. Many rows of houses are completed but no households live there.
According to records, many areas in the project have completed technical infrastructure but there is no continued construction activity. Some rough-built houses have been closed for many years, with overgrown weeds, and a long, quiet atmosphere.
Ms. Bui Thu Ha, a long-time real estate broker in Son La, said: "Buyers are mainly investors. Many people buy to wait for price increases or hang signs for resale. However, the market is quiet, liquidity is low, so transactions are very difficult, some lots are offered for sale all year round but no one asks.
A similar situation also occurred at the Elite Hill Son La Project, invested by NTF Hoang Phat Joint Stock Company. The project has an area of more than 16ha, with a total investment of nearly 1,000 billion VND, started in July 2022.
Mr. Vu Kieu Hung - Business Director in charge of the Elite Hill project said that phase 1 with an area of about 7ha has completed technical infrastructure. Land prices range from 1.6 - 2.7 billion VND/plot. Condominiaries have filled about 50%, but mainly business households, while residential land is very difficult to sell.
However, actual records show that on land plots that have been divided into plots, only about 3-4 houses are being built sparsely, the rest are mostly vacant.
Ms. Vi Thi Thuy, a resident living near the project area, said: "The daytime is already deserted, the evening is even more deserted. The roads have lights but very few houses have people living there, mainly empty land or houses under construction.
Meanwhile, Kim Son Central Park urban area (Chieng Coi ward) is assessed to have a higher occupancy rate than the two projects above. However, many adjacent houses are still in a state of being closed, hanging signs for sale or rent; living and business activities are not as vibrant as expected.
According to Mr. Mai Dinh Chung, Mai Dinh - Son La Real Estate Transaction Office, the main reason why many billion-VND urban areas in Son La are deserted is because real estate prices are at a much higher level than people's income, while the actual housing demand is not large.
Most buyers have an investment mentality, "surfing the wave". When the real estate market is quiet, cash flow is tightened, and many projects fall into the situation of being completed but lacking people to live in. Mr. Chung commented.
This situation not only causes waste of urban land funds but also raises the requirement to review and adjust planning and orientation of housing development to suit actual needs, avoiding the formation of new urban areas but lacking vitality.
