It is increasingly difficult to buy a house
After many years of working in Ho Chi Minh City and saving more than 1 billion VND, Ms. Tu Tran, residing in An Lac ward, is trying to buy a small apartment in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City, but after more than a year of searching, has not yet found a suitable project. In the suburban areas, where she once hoped to find an apartment in the price range of less than 2 billion VND, but after a survey, she was disappointed. The apartments with selling prices suitable for her income and income are all studio apartments, very small areas and the selling price is also nearly 50 million VND/m2. The apartments with 2 bedrooms all cost over 60 million VND/m2.
According to data from Batdongsan.com.vn, over the past 5 years, apartment prices in Ho Chi Minh City have increased by an average of 46-60%, currently reaching about 60 million VND/m2. According to CBRE's report, in the second quarter of 2025, apartment prices in the core area of Ho Chi Minh City (old boundary) will average 82 million VND/m2, an increase of 7% compared to the previous quarter and 29% compared to the same period last year. Newly opened projects recorded an average price increase of 10-13% compared to the previous period.
Without support policies or cheap supply, home ownership will become increasingly distant for the majority of urban people, said Mr. Vo Huynh Tuan Kiet - Director of Housing Marketing Department, CBRE Vietnam.
Supply has not improved, causing prices to increase sharply
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has just updated the list of housing projects eligible for sale and lease-purchase from the beginning of the year to the end of June.
Accordingly, only 7 projects with a total of 5,556 apartments have been approved by this agency for licensing procedures to be eligible for sale, only about 25% compared to Hanoi. The total number of high-rise houses eligible for sale is about 4,318 units, accounting for nearly 78% of the licensed supply; while the number of low-rise houses is 1,238 units, equivalent to more than 22%.
According to CBRE Vietnam's market research report, in the first half of 2025, the housing market in Ho Chi Minh City will have 1,400 apartments and 132 newly opened low-rise houses, of which the new supply in the second quarter of 2025 is only about 1,000 apartments and 74 low-rise houses. For the apartment market, the supply in the first 6 months of this year is still 16% lower than the total supply in the first 6 months of 2024 and the lowest since 2015. This unit forecasts that in the last 6 months of the year, the housing supply of Ho Chi Minh City (new) will still be limited with only 6,000 apartments and more than 800 low-rise apartments opening for sale.
In fact, the number of products offered for sale in the first half of the year was at its lowest level in the past 10 years in Ho Chi Minh City. Due to scarce supply, most of the projects offered for sale in Ho Chi Minh City are currently luxury and high-end products, especially in the central area.
As of the second quarter of 2025, the primary selling price of the apartment market in Ho Chi Minh City reached 82 million VND/m2 of water-residing water, an increase of nearly 7% quarterly and 29% annually.
According to experts, the "thirst" for apartment supply reflects that many projects are facing legal problems and have not yet unblocked the supply, leading to a lack of product diversity in the market, so prices are anchored high.
From now until the end of the year, CBRE expects Ho Chi Minh City to have an additional 6,000 tri triguous housing products, of which about 70% will come from newly merged areas.
CBRE experts say that with suburban housing prices 50-80% lower than the center and abundant supply, the suburban market will contribute to slowing down and slowing down the increase in city real estate prices.
However, there are still many opinions warning that the price level in the newly merged areas may increase rapidly in the coming years thanks to the reputation of the "super urban area".
Forecasting the housing prices of the Ho Chi Minh City market after the merger in the next 3 years, Ms. Duong Thuy Dung, Senior Director of CBRE Vietnam, said that prices will continue to increase, but at a more reasonable level, about 9-11% for apartments and 6-12% for townhouses. This increase is considered appropriate in the context of escalating project development costs and land use fees likely to increase according to the newly adjusted annual land price list.
