In the context of real estate prices and apartment prices in Hanoi showing no signs of " cooling down", many reasons are pointed out by experts. For example, the supply of commercial housing is suitable for the "bag" of people, legal procedures are still prolonged, land costs and loans are increasing, making housing prices increasingly out of reach.
It takes people 60 years to own a house
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Dr. Tran Xuan Luong - Deputy Director of the Institute for Real Estate Market Research and Evaluation (VARS IRE) - gave noteworthy figures: "Compared to countries in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia or Singapore, we are having unreasonable rates. Vietnam's average income per capita is about 7,000 tri triburate per year, while house prices are up to 80-100 million VND/m2. With such income, it will take people 40-50 years, even 60 years to buy a house".
Meanwhile, in Thailand, Mr. Luong stated that the average income is about 12,000 USD/year, the house price is only 2,500-3,000 USD/m2. If compared correlated, the ratio between income and housing prices in Vietnam is about 30-40 times higher, while in other countries it is only about 15-18 times, the average global standard is about 15 times.
Explaining the sky-high prices in the current real estate market, a representative of the Institute for Real Estate Market Research and Evaluation (VARS IRE) said that the problem is land prices. The lack of standard data forces land prices to rely on bidding prices, while auction prices continue to increase.
"Another reason is that the overall planning is not good. Currently, the population and housing supply are concentrated in big cities. In the coming time, if the planning is good, the development of transport infrastructure, especially beltways, metro systems, satellite urban expansion, and connection of residential areas with production areas, people do not need to travel 1-2 hours a day to work. At that time, social costs will decrease, and housing prices will also be less pressured" - Mr. Luong emphasized.
"Conforming" construction standards
Adding the opinion of Dr. Tran Xuan Luong at the seminar " decoding real estate capital flows and opportunities for real home buyers" organized by Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy - CEO of the Faculty of Finance - Banking, Nguyen Trai University gave an alarming situation.
"Currently, the prices of many housing products range from 7 to 20 billion VND - a level that very few Vietnamese people can access. An important reason that has not been mentioned is time waste. It will take 5-10 years from the project's inception to completion and handover to the people, causing the value to slide sharply due to labor, raw materials and macro risks" - Mr. Huy stated.
Agreeing with the viewpoint of needing to "convert" construction from design, materials, to technical standards, Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy compared this to "medal table". If there are clear regulations, investors only need to implement correctly, thereby shortening time, reducing costs and creating a more reasonable selling price for people.
Regarding supply, it is necessary to increase the land use coefficient. In commercial housing projects, instead of building too many low-rise buildings, priority should be given to maximizing high-rise buildings to increase product scale, increase the proportion of social housing and form large urban areas. At the same time, it is necessary to raise social housing standards so that people have more options. When supply and demand meet at a reasonable level, housing prices will adjust themselves.
On the contrary, if we only use regular and drastic administrative measures, then in essence, supply and demand will not meet conveniently, causing housing prices to remain high and making it difficult for people to access.
