New apartments for $2,000 per square meter disappearing from Hanoi

Bao Linh has been searching for a new two-bedroom apartment in the western area of the city for three months.

She is constantly contacted by real estate agents, but each project she is shown is more expensive than the last.

The cheapest she has been able to find is at a development in Nam Tu Liem District's Tay Mo Ward, which is expected to be ready for occupation in early 2026.

If she manages to pay quickly or without bank loans, it will cost her less than VND60 million per square meter.

An agent urged her to book early, warning that another project in the same area, expected to be handed over by the end of 2027, could be priced at VND70 million or more.

Minh Duc's family hopes to find a new 60-square-meter apartment at around VND50 million per square meter.

They have savings of only VND1.5 billion, and, given the current prices, they might have to get a large loan or buy a smaller or older unit, he said.

"The longer we wait, the harder it becomes to achieve our goal of owning a home."

Apartment projects in Hanoi's western area in late 2023, many of which were initially sold for less than VND50 million per square meter a few years ago. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

The primary market supply currently consists of a dozen projects, most of them priced above VND60 million.

A Ministry of Construction report earlier this month said only two projects in Hanoi are listed at below VND50 million per square meter, one each in Ha Dong and Hoai Duc districts.

But at the Ha Dong project, the cost is VND40 million only for leasehold of 50 years and 20-30% higher for freehold.

At the Hoai Duc project, there are only a few large three- and four-bedroom units, which are hard to sell due to their size, available at below VND50 million.

Several projects that used to be priced at VND40 million in 2023 or even the first half of this year are now asking for VND60-70 million.

According to data from market research firm CBRE, the average primary market price for Hanoi apartments rose 25% year-on-year to VND60 million per square meter in the second quarter of this year.

OneHousing, another market research company, said VND50 million apartments could only be found in the secondary market, and are disappearing from the primary market due to high demand and a dearth of new supply.

Hanoi is expected to add around 22,000 new apartments this year but its population increases by 160,000 a year, putting huge pressure on housing.

People used to prefer investments in various types of properties like lands, villas and townhouses, but apartments have become the asset of choice in the last year or so due to its high liquidity and ability to generate cash flow from rentals.

OneHousing forecast an addition of 47,000 new apartments in the next two years, but said prices would remain high as most are likely to be in the premium and luxury segments.

The director of a real estate agency in Hanoi said boosting social housing supply is the only way to bring down apartment prices in Hanoi.

But the city has had only one social housing project on sale in the last two years and another just started construction late last year, he added.