No one will buy a 100-square-meter apartment for $275,000

In today's housing market, young individuals in their 30s face significant hurdles in affording a home in cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City without additional financial support from their parents. Even those with a relatively high monthly income of VND20 million find it challenging to keep pace with the soaring housing prices in major urban areas, let alone individuals earning the average monthly income of VND10 million.

As I am not an expert, I cannot say for sure how many houses are being bought or whether apartments are selling like hotcakes, as recent news has painted them to be. While many of my acquaintances boast about their houses or apartments being valued at VND5-7 billion, from my observation, the prices listed on online platforms are significantly lower.

I wonder if they are basing their prices on rumors spread in resident groups or if they are just trying to prove to themselves that their decision to buy an apartment was a good one. Personally, with VND7 billion, I would rather choose a 40-square-meter house in a 3-meter wide alley accessible by car instead of a 100-square-meter three-bedroom apartment.

Nowadays, when a property changes hands, it usually goes up by at least VND1 billion. Apartment owners want to make a profit of at least 10-15% of their purchase price. Meanwhile, the real estate brokers also want their commissions, so they usually raise the price, sometimes by hundreds of millions of dong, when they advertise properties. Therefore, apartment prices keep soaring uncontrollably.

Given that selling an apartment yields more profits than bank deposits, owners are unafraid to hold on to their properties for a few years in anticipation of better prices.

In reality, how many of them managed to sell their properties at their exorbitant prices? In the alley where I live, there was a person who listed their apartment on online platforms for years but has not been able to sell it. Brokers who brought potential buyers to the unit would change the selling price every half an hour.

I find that many online listings often feature fake photos and inflated prices to lure buyers. I doubt the actual selling prices match the claims made by the owners.

Does anyone else also think that apartment prices are inflated?

Reader BL

*This opinion was translated into English by AI. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.