A foreign guest unexpectedly checked out in August 2024, so Ms. Nguyen Hong Ngoc (owner of a serviced apartment on Tran Duy Hung Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi) posted a rental ad on groups and forums.
According to Ms. Ngoc, the rental price of serviced apartments here ranges from 12-18 million VND/apartment/month, so it is very selective of customers and households with stable income. Even because the apartments are vacant for many months, some owners here are renting out serviced apartments by the hour to offset operating costs.
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai Yen (living in Thanh Xuan district) also shared that because the rent is taking up 1/3 of her income, she had to return the serviced apartment she was renting in early September 2024 to save costs.
Not only has the apartment rent increased, according to Ms. Hai Yen, some additional costs such as electricity and water prices, maintenance fees, living expenses... have also increased, causing many tenants like her to face financial pressure.
A recent report by Savills Vietnam shows that rental prices and occupancy rates of serviced apartments in Hanoi in the third quarter of 2024 remained stable and increased compared to the same period last year.
Notably, the rental price of serviced apartments in Hanoi reached VND588,000/m2/month, an average decrease of 2% quarter-on-quarter, due to a 4% decrease in class A and a 2% decrease in class C, but still a slight increase of 2% year-on-year.
The supply of Grade A serviced apartments is still mainly concentrated in Tay Ho. Meanwhile, the supply of serviced apartments in Hai Ba Trung, Gia Lam, and Long Bien districts are all Grade B.
Many real estate experts believe that, although it is a potential segment, there are very few serviced apartment investors who can achieve a profit of 6.5%/year due to the increasingly fierce competition in the apartment rental market in Hanoi due to abundant supply.
Mr. Nguyen The Diep - Vice President of Hanoi Real Estate Club - commented that currently, the target customers of serviced apartments and apartments are increasingly differentiated.For the high-end segment, the target customers will mainly be foreigners, business managers, and people with financial conditions.
However, due to the increasing price of apartments, abundant supply is the main reason why apartment rental activities have recently been competitive in the market and investors have difficulty finding tenants.
