Apartment lease demand plummets along HCMC metro line

For example, the Gateway Thao Dien and The Nassim, which are situated some 800 meters from the metro, saw demand fall by 68% and 56%.

Several others that are 500-900 meters away from the line, such as Centum Wealth and Moonlight Residences, also suffered similar declines.

Properties along the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line in HCMC's Thu Duc City, October 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Dinh Minh Tuan, Batdongsan’s southern regional director, said rents at these apartments had skyrocketed earlier to levels that put them out of reach of most long-term tenants.

Batdongsan said rents hit a peak in the third quarter of 2024 and remained mostly unchanged last month.

Rents near metro stations in Binh Thanh District now average VND26.5 million (US$1,035) per month, while in the Thao Dien area they cost VND24.5 million.

They fall further to VND9-17 million in the old District 9 and Thu Duc District areas, both of which are now part of Thu Duc City.

Tuan said the metro line has yet to bring as much convenience and benefits as people had expected, and its surrounding areas still lack parking facilities and essential services, which are detracting from the appeal of apartments along it.

But while demand and rents have cooled for now, they are expected to rise again in the long term due to limited new supply in these areas, he said.

Concurring, Vo Hong Thang, director of investment at property consultancy DKRA Group, said the metro has only recently started operating and would take time to impact the rental market.