The land rent market in Hanoi is witnessing a wave of land returns spreading, appearing densely on many bustling streets such as Kim Ma, Nui Truc, Pho Hue, Ton Duc Thang,...
Despite owning prime locations with high traffic density, many premises still fall into the scene of "empty gardens and houses", hanging signs for renting whole units or dividing floors but have not found customers.
Ms. Do Nguyet - the owner of the house on Nui Truc street - said that her house used to have continuous tenants, from water stalls, nail salons to shoe stores. However, after the nearest customer returned the premises, more than a month has passed and there has still been no new tenants.
The house area is small, only about 12m2, the facade is narrow at 1.7-2m, so it is suitable for small business models. Previously, just hanging a sign and someone would ask immediately, but now it is very difficult. The rental price is about 6 million VND/month, no long-term commitment required but still unsold" - Ms. Nguyet shared.
Not only the homeowner is facing difficulties, but the land renter is also struggling. Ms. Nguyen Thu Trang - who is renting a 20m2 store for 15-16 million VND/month - said that business is becoming increasingly difficult.
There are almost no customers, revenue has decreased sharply. Many surrounding stores have also returned premises, hung signs for rent but no one asks" - Ms. Trang said.
According to her, purchasing power has decreased significantly, especially for the tailoring and ready-to-sell industry - which is heavily dependent on a group of regular customers, while the cost of hiring workers and operating is still high.
In the opposite direction, the trend of finding space for young businesses is also changing. Instead of prioritizing expensive frontage locations, many people are switching to looking for space in alleys, apartment buildings or gardens, focusing on experience and design.
Mr. Vu Duc Hieu (25 years old, Hanoi) said that he spent more than 2 months searching for space to open a small coffee shop but still has not found a suitable location, even though the budget is 25-30 million VND/month for an area of about 60m2.
Now coffee shops no longer depend too much on the facade. We will invest in design, shop space, drinks and social media" - Mr. Hieu assessed.
According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Anh - Deputy General Director of Batdongsan. com. vn, the townhouse rental market in major cities has been less vibrant from the period 2021-2022 to now and has not shown clear signs of recovery.
He believes that the rental price of townhouses, especially in the North, has hardly decreased in many years, creating great pressure on tenants in the context of difficult business operations. Meanwhile, many homeowners are not willing to reduce prices for fear of affecting asset value.
Experts believe that changes in the business model are the core reason. Selling through e-commerce platforms and online platforms helps save significant costs compared to traditional premise rentals.
Currently, the premises that still retain their attractiveness mainly serve F&B chains or banks. Other industries are increasingly difficult to exploit, especially in the traditional retail segment" - Mr. Quoc Anh said.
In that context, the "storm" of site clearance in Hanoi is forecast to continue if the cost-revenue problem is not improved and the consumption trend continues to shift to the online environment.
