Located on major roads, in prime locations, many large-scale premises such as traditional townhouses, commercial centers, shophouses, etc. in Hanoi are in a state of "sluggishness" and have been closed en masse.
According to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, from street-front houses on central streets of Hanoi such as Xuan Thuy, Lac Long Quan, Vo Chi Cong to "golden land" commercial centers located on busy streets or shophouse rows on major roads... are currently in a state of mass closure, hanging signs waiting for tenants for a long time.
These are busy business streets with wide roads but many shops are abandoned, making many people feel regretful.
Ms. Le Mai (32 years old, Dong Da, Hanoi) said that she has a house on Lac Long Quan street, Hanoi, about 250m2, which has been for rent for a long time but has not found any tenants. Although she has increased the advertisement of the shop for rent on many websites, customers are not interested, most of the people who come to ask to rent ask for a very low price.
“I negotiated with the tenant and agreed to lower the price compared to the initial expectation, but the tenant still asked for a further reduction, the price was unacceptable so I refused. Therefore, the house has been vacant for a long time,” said Ms. Mai.
Regarding the current demand for renting premises, Mr. Duc Quoc - a shop owner in Cau Giay shared that the current market trend has changed, renting premises is no longer necessary, the shop is sometimes just a place to display and place signs. Business people and shop owners can sell through online channels, on e-commerce platforms. Therefore, if the rent remains high, it will be very difficult for the shop owners to retain tenants if they do not reduce the price.
Regarding rental prices, CBRE Vietnam's market report said that the rental price of retail space in the central area of Hanoi in the third quarter of 2024 reached 172.7 USD/m2/month, an increase of 16.2% over the same period last year, a slight increase of 0.2% over the previous quarter. Rental prices continued to increase as the vacancy rate in this area remained low at only 1.7%.
Meanwhile, in non-central areas, the vacancy rate increased by 2.1 percentage points to 12.1% compared to the previous quarter due to new supply and some tenants returning premises.
With the current market situation, Ms. Hoang Nguyet Minh - senior expert of Savills Hanoi - commented that owners, especially those renting townhouses, need to change to adapt to the new context, bringing the rental price of townhouses in Hanoi back to their true value, instead of competing to increase prices, causing difficulties for businesses and households with rental and business needs...
