Ho Chi Minh City sees house prices skyrocket

Nguyen in Binh Thanh District last month sold a house for VND11 billion ($438,000) even though she failed to sell it at VND10 billion between August last year and January this year. "I thought that the buyer would bargain, but he accepted the price without hesitation."

Similar transactions have occurred in downtown Ho Chi Minh City in recent months. A house in Phu Nhuan District was sold at VND5.2 billion, 13% higher than the asking price in the same time last year.

In Tan Binh District, a house initially priced at VND6 billion in February sold for VND6.5 billion this month, reflecting an 8% rise.

Xuan Anh, a house broker in HCMC, said that prices have been heading up since May. All units that her brokerage is selling have seen prices up 5-10% year-on-year. "This is an acceptable increase for many buyers".

In District 1, prices in June have risen by 8.2% to VND255 million per square meter, according to property listing platform Batdongsan.

In other localities the increases were between 1.5% and 7.5%. On property listing platform Nha Tot, prices have gone up between 6% and 30%.

Tran Thanh Triet, reported a 30% increase in house transactions year-on-year, with most sales involving smaller houses priced under VND10 billion.

Investors are drawn to houses as they remain relatively stable despite market fluctuations, given the consistent demand.

Dinh Minh Tuan, southern region director of Batdongsan, said that traditional homebuyers in Vietnam love houses because they believe land value will appreciate over time.

Prices are likely to go up in the remaining months this year, but it might take longer for the housing market to return to the pre-pandemic level, he added.