40-year-old apartments listed at $3,900 per square meter in Hanoi

Huu Hai in Ba Dinh District has been listing his 80-square-meter apartment for VND6 billion (US$234,800) since January, after acquiring and renovating it for VND3.6 billion in 2023.

The 61-year-old thinks the apartment is worth the high price since it is on the ground floor and so good for housing a business.

Hai’s apartment complex, Thanh Cong, is among the 10 old ones city authorities earmarked for renovation between 2021 and 2025.

They recently approved Ba Dinh District’s proposal to consider demolishing and building the complex with up to 40 floors in each building.

It now has 68 buildings with a maximum of five floors. Expectations they will be rebuilt have pushed up their apartment prices to VND90-120 million per square meter.

Owners of other apartments in the rebuilding plan are also demanding similar prices: Most are decades-old and in need of a complete makeover due to safety issues.

But sellers and buyers have yet to agree on the price range. Nguyen Anh Tuan, director of a real estate business, says prices in old apartment buildings in the downtown area have jumped 30-40% in the past year or so amid a property market boom.

Their prime location, much better than distant districts such as Dong Anh and Gia Lam where prices are already at VND100 million per square meter, makes them attractive to buyers.

But Tuan says apartments offered for around VND4 billion are struggling to sell, as buyers opt for other projects with the same price range.

Nguyen Chi Thanh, CEO of property developer Ho Tay International Tower Co., said that many investors bought these old apartments years ago and waited for a price jump as they anticipate a reconstruction.

Some wealthy players have bought low and are now selling high, and therefore buyers should not rush in to avoid buying at the peak, he added.