Lands priced at $7,900 per square meter on Hanoi outskirts find few takers

At the end of last year real estate broker Tuan Phuong was asked to sell a 70-square-meter plot of land for VND14 billion, or VND200 million per square meter.

It has yet to be sold, but the owner has hiked the price by another 5%.

"Some people have inquired but none wanted to buy at the high price," Phuong said.

Sellers often justify their price by saying their land is located near Nhat Tan Bridge, a key piece of infrastructure connecting downtown Hanoi with the outskirts.

Proximity to the proposed US$4.2-billion smart city is another reason for the high price.

In Vinh Ngoc Commune in Dong Anh, lots were sold 20% higher year-on-year at VND72 million per square meter in the first quarter, according to property listing platform Batdongsan.

Xuan Canh Commune has seen a nearly 30% rise in prices to VND60 million, it said.

Some land auctions last year saw people bid VND100 million, double the reserve price. But brokerages have seen few lands going for such high prices.

Nguyen Tien, who works for a brokerage in Dong Anh, said some owners are quoting very high prices just to test the waters and not because they want to sell yet.

Pham Duc Toan, CEO of developer EZ Property, said that landlords are selling their land at the level of the next five or 10 years and there have been similar price surges in the past in that area.

Nguyen Van Dinh, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Realtors, said the property market has yet to fully recover and prices seem to be pushed up by speculators in Dong Anh where many investors have lost money in the past.