Apartment prices in Ho Chi Minh City are increasing sharply.

In the context of limited new supply and high input costs, apartment prices in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring areas are increasing sharply.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, 40 years old, a worker at PouYuen factory, came to Ho Chi Minh City in 2000. According to Ms. Thanh, in the beginning, her basic salary was more than 500,000 VND/month, she sent back home nearly half to help her family, the rest was for food and rent.

To save on rent, she chose to share a room with a co-worker. The room was poorly built, with walls and roof made of corrugated iron, so it was hot in the sun and leaky in the rain. The floor was always damp, the space was stuffy... The desire to have a decent place to live was always on her mind, but it took nearly 10 years for her to have her first savings, when her siblings graduated and the money she sent home gradually decreased.

Ms. Thanh said that her current monthly income is over 12 million VND. To have money to buy a house, she had to save and squeeze as much money as possible, but the dream of owning a house is still far away, because to buy an apartment on installments, there must be a down payment. At the time the down payment was about 200 million VND, she did not have any money. When she saved this amount, the down payment had doubled.

“When I had saved 400 million VND, I didn’t know where to find housing for low-income people,” said Ms. Thanh, adding that she had also looked into some commercial housing projects, but for this type of housing, she had to use all her monthly salary to pay the bank interest, leaving no money left to raise her children.

Thanh’s case is common among migrant workers in Ho Chi Minh City. They have saved for decades, but the dream of settling down remains elusive as apartment prices continue to rise in both the primary and secondary markets.

For example, the primary supply of a project on Mai Chi Tho Street (Thu Duc City) has just been offered for sale in the first phase at prices ranging from 146 to 155 million VND/m2. This price is 15-20% higher than existing projects in the same area.

Not far away, a project in Thu Thiem ward (Thu Duc city) also opened phase II for sale with a price of about 250 million VND/m2, an increase of 36% compared to phase I at the end of last year.

Similarly, another project in the old District 9 area (Thu Duc City) is planning to restart with an expected price of 90-100 million VND/m2, nearly 25% more expensive than before.

In the mid-range segment, some projects with available products for sale in the past have also adjusted their prices. For example, the Fiato Uptown project (Thu Duc City) is advertised at around VND50 million/m2, an increase of VND2 million/m2 compared to before. Projects in Nha Be and Binh Chanh districts have also adjusted their product baskets to VND47-55 million/m2, instead of VND45-50 million/m2 as before.

It is not difficult to realize that the supply of commercial housing in the market today is mainly concentrated in the mid-range and high-end segments, which are difficult to access for low-income earners, workers, and migrant workers. Meanwhile, social housing is in serious shortage.

Explaining the reason for the continuous increase in housing prices, investors said that many people are moving to big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to live and work, so the demand for housing is very high. Accordingly, the price of apartment land can only increase, not decrease. Not to mention, the apartment segment has high liquidity, so it is also sought after by many people.

“Investors should not hesitate when buying a house. If there is a need and an opportunity, they should immediately make a decision. Investing in apartments is increasingly potential,” said Mr. Duong, an investor in Ho Chi Minh City.

In addition to the supply and demand factors, Mr. Su Ngoc Khuong, Senior Director of Savills Vietnam, said that the lack of supply in the real estate market is causing housing prices to continuously increase. According to this expert, there are still many projects facing difficulties in resolving legal issues, so they cannot be implemented. In addition, the story of land funds and project development costs also makes it difficult for housing prices to decrease regardless of the segment.

“Many investors cannot adjust prices lower because input costs have increased, forcing them to sell at high prices. However, project developers also need to consider market liquidity, because when prices increase, transactions are affected due to difficulty in selling,” said Mr. Khuong.

According to experts, the revised Land Law, the revised Housing Law and the revised Real Estate Business Law have raised hopes of removing legal obstacles for about 1,000 projects nationwide, creating more favorable conditions for accessing capital and credit.

However, in the period of 2024 - 2026, the number of apartments priced at 2-4 billion VND in Ho Chi Minh City will become increasingly scarce, the supply is mainly concentrated in the segment of 5-10 billion VND/apartment. Homebuyers should switch to projects in neighboring areas such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An ... to get more affordable prices.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/batdongsan/gia-ban-can-ho-chung-cu-tai-tphcm-dang-tang-manh-d223240.html