No new apartment under $1,500 per sqm in HCMC for 2nd year in a row

Vietnam’s biggest city saw four new projects with 3,353 apartments, all high-priced, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA).

The latter represented a 15% drop year-on-year. The mid-range and affordable segments are priced at VND40 million or less.

Primary market prices increased by 4-6% at new launches and 2-4% at projects inaugurated earlier and offering new units during the quarter, property consultancy Avison Young Vietnam said in a report.

New launches in the second quarter have apartments costing VND55 million or more. This supply imbalance was seen nationwide.

The Vietnam Association of Realtors reported 36,000 new apartments were launched in the first half of 2025, double last year’s figure. Of them, more than 62% were priced at above VND80 million per square meter.

Buildings in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen

Luxury apartment numbers jumped, while mid-priced units accounted for just 30% (9,000 units), and were mostly outside HCMC and Hanoi.

In HCMC, the average price was VND77 million per square meter. Pham Thi Mien, deputy director of the Vietnam Real Estate Research Institute, said the supply remains skewed toward the luxury and high-end segments.

Affordable supply is mainly at social housing projects, which added some 3,000 units.

HoREA chairman Le Hoang Chau said: "2025 will continue to be dominated by the luxury segment in HCMC’s housing market."

The absence of mid-range and affordable products distorts the market structure, he warned. "The limited supply of commercial housing has driven prices upward."

HCMC apartment prices have occasionally seen an annual increase of 15-20% in the last few years. Mien said the affordable segment is less appealing to developers due to its profit margins of only 15%.

Besides, there is high demand for luxury housing, encouraging developers to focus on the segment, she said.

Scarce urban land and rising costs of land, construction and labor further drive developers toward high-profit projects, she pointed out.

There are no strong factors that could drive down housing prices in the short term, while there are several to push them upward including the new land price framework, she said.

Most supply in 2025 would again be in the luxury and high-end segments, potentially driving prices up by 8-10% annually.

Concurring, Chau predicted continued price rises due to the new land price framework and investors’ expectations of profits. "Most developers have little financial pressure, reducing their incentive to lower prices."

Low interest rates, cheap capital and accelerated public investment fuel expectations of further price hikes, while affordable supply remains scarce, he added.

A recent report by the HCMC Department of Construction forecast a continued but slow market recovery in 2025, with no major breakthroughs.

Housing prices could rise slightly in some segments due to the new land price framework, it said. Apartments remain the most promising segment due to limited new supply and sustained demand for housing space for living, it said.

Supply is expected to improve gradually in the coming years, it added.