Mr. Tran Quoc Hung (35 years old, office worker in Cau Giay district, Hanoi) informed that although he has been to see many old apartments for sale in Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, and Ba Dinh districts, he has not yet found a satisfactory apartment.
Last week, Mr. Hung was taken by a real estate broker to see an old apartment for sale for 3 billion VND, with an area of only 50-60 m2, built over 15 years, surrounded by very few amenities in Hoang Mai district.
"Many apartments are advertised for 3 billion VND but the surrounding amenities are not guaranteed or often have legal problems such as not having a red book. In fact, the number of affordable old apartments with clear legal documents and stable quality around 3 billion VND in the center of Hanoi is extremely rare, making it difficult to find and buy" - Mr. Hung said.
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (41 years old, a bank employee in Dong Da district) informed that it is very difficult to find an old apartment priced at 3 billion VND/apartment in the central districts of Hanoi when the average price is fluctuating around 75 million VND/m2.
According to Ms. Ngan, most of the old apartments in Hanoi were built 15-20 years ago, with outdated designs, low elevator density, and lack of parking lots, so those who want to buy like her have to consider very carefully.
Savills Vietnam's real estate market report for the first quarter of 2025 shows that in the Hanoi market, primary apartment prices have increased by an average of 22,2% per year over the past 5 years.
In the last quarter, the market recorded a significant difference in the selling price of primary apartments from investors and secondary apartments in the market. In the primary market, the average selling price reached 79 million VND/m2, while the secondary price was only 60 million VND/m2.
Ms. Do Thu Hang - Senior Director, Consulting and Research Department of Savills Hanoi - commented that according to a survey by Savills on more than 400 apartment projects in Hanoi, up to 47% of projects recorded secondary prices decreasing compared to the previous quarter.
The decrease ranges depending on the project, on average the secondary apartment market in the first quarter of 2025 decreased by about 1% quarter-on-quarter. The gap between primary and secondary prices is widening, especially in the high-end segment.
On the contrary, assessing the prospects for primary apartment prices in the second quarter of 2025, the expert said that the possibility of price reduction is not high, but it is unlikely that there will be a hot increase like in previous stages.
The average primary price is currently around VND79 million/m2. Therefore, the possibility of primary prices falling in the second quarter of 2025 is not high.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh - Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association (Vars) - commented that in 2025, apartment prices will hardly tend to decrease.
The reason is that the new primary supply available on the market in 2025 will focus mainly on the high-end and luxury segments. Therefore, apartment prices will continue to stay high.
Experts say that supply from social housing projects is likely to increase in 2025. Meanwhile, the supply of affordable commercial housing is still absent in the real estate market, the price level of apartments in Hanoi will hardly tend to decrease, only maintaining the same or slightly increasing prices.
