Mr. Tran Van Cuong (35 years old, construction engineer in Hanoi) informed that although he really wanted to live in the inner city, due to financial pressure, his family bought an old apartment in Hoai Duc district for 55 million VND/m2.
Mr. Cuong described that the 66m2 apartment has a selling price of 3.6 billion VND, although it is nearly 10 km from the workplace, it is suitable for the needs of the family and finances. Meanwhile, the price of old apartments in central districts of Hanoi such as Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, Dong Da... can reach 5 - 6 billion VND/unit.
Accepting to move to the suburbs to buy a house, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang (40 years old, living in Thanh Tri district, Hanoi) said that many of her friends in recent years have also sought to buy old apartments in Thanh Tri district, Hoai Duc... when the transportation infrastructure and utilities are gradually being completed.
Ms. Hang added that instead of choosing to buy a house according to the criteria near the agency, near the center, many families like her have now shifted to the suburbs to buy old apartments at about 50-60 million VND/m2 to reduce financial burden.
Old apartments with clear legal status and reputable investors are becoming the priority choice for people with average incomes.
Referring to this content, Ms. Do Thu Hang - Senior Director, Research and Consulting Department of Savills Hanoi - commented that the demand for housing in urban areas is always high, especially for affordable products.
Experts say that if housing projects move outside the Ring Roads or neighboring provinces, the price will be reasonable. In projects that are being launched on the market at a high level, transaction liquidity cannot reach a quick speed.
Notably, according to Ms. Hang, the B-class apartment segment (middle-end) in the Hanoi market is currently maintaining a good level, the number of apartments for sale is still mainly concentrated in the B-class apartment segment, accounting for 90%.
Meanwhile, for class C apartments (popular) with a selling price of less than VND50 million/m2, it is currently very rare on the market.
Sharing the same view, Ms. Duong Thuy Dung - CEO of CBRE Vietnam - said that in 2025, housing prices will not decrease but the growth rate will slow down, only about 5 - 8% compared to 2024.
Primary selling prices are expected to continue to increase because although supply has improved, it is still very difficult to meet demand, because most of the new supply is completed at a high standard with large investment costs.
Many real estate experts also predict that in 2025, apartment prices will remain high and unlikely to decrease significantly, especially in the central area of big cities.
However, this increase will slow down as the market appears with more and more new products, meeting real housing needs and in line with people's affordability.
