Mr. Bui Nhat Anh (30 years old, from Lai Chau) is currently a freelancer in Hanoi. Having lived and worked in Hanoi for 10 years, he and his wife live in a cramped rented room.
Last year, Nhat Anh's family welcomed two more children. The living space was too cramped and there were many inconveniences, so Nhat Anh started thinking about buying a house.
After a long time of scrimping and receiving support from both sides of the family, the couple saved more than 2 billion VND. In mid-2023, Nhat Anh and his wife liked a 37m2, 4-storey house in Thanh Tri district, Hanoi, priced at 3.3 billion VND. Accordingly, if they chose this house, his family would have to borrow 1 billion VND from the bank.
“At that time, my husband and I were very hesitant. Our monthly income was about 20 million VND. Spending 7.5 million VND each month to pay bank interest was a bit too much for us.
I decided not to take the risk and hoped that the house price would drop or I would find another cheaper one. Who would have thought, now I know that was a mistake" - Mr. Nhat Anh confided.
After a period of waiting, the house price not only did not decrease but also increased rapidly, making buyers dizzy. In April 2024, the 3.3 billion VND house he intended to buy was sold for 4.5 billion VND; an increase of 1.2 billion VND after 1 year.
“With my current amount of more than 2 billion VND, it is difficult to buy an apartment, let alone a house. If I had accepted a bank loan back then, I would have had a nice house to live in. Right now, my wife and I do not dare to think about buying a house,” said Mr. Nhat Anh.
Nhat Anh's family is also planning to arrange work and return to their hometown Lai Chau to live.
Similarly, Ms. Tran Thi Huyen (33 years old, from Thanh Hoa), currently living in the suburbs of Hanoi, said that in March 2024, her family sold a piece of land for 3.5 billion VND in the countryside, planning to save money to buy a house in the inner city. After 2 months of research and visiting dozens of apartments, Ms. Huyen and her husband finally found a house in Dong Da district, Hanoi, priced at 5.5 billion VND.
However, at that time, Huyen and her husband were quite hesitant because the house price exceeded their capital. “If we closed the house, we would have to borrow another 1 billion VND, not to mention the cost of furniture and renovation. Therefore, my husband and I discussed waiting a little longer for the house price to decrease before buying. However, up to now, that apartment has increased to more than 6 billion VND. We are extremely confused,” said Huyen.
The Ministry of Construction's housing and real estate market report said that in the third quarter of 2024, apartment prices in Hanoi continued to increase in both new and old projects, with new project prices increasing by about 4-6% quarterly and 22-25% annually.
According to the Ministry of Construction, the reason for the recent increase in real estate prices is largely due to the impact of a number of factors such as the increase in land-related costs, especially in some localities. In addition, affordable housing products are not in sufficient supply to meet market demand. This has caused apartment prices to increase, especially in some areas, increasing locally by about 35 - 40%.
