Still no buyers, Hanoi apartment owner lowers selling price

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - After a period of continuously escalating apartment prices in Hanoi , some homeowners have now lowered their prices to find buyers.

Many apartments are being offered for sale at reduced prices.

According to a survey by Dan Tri reporters, over the past month or so, the asking prices for many used apartments in Hanoi have decreased by 200 to 400 million VND.

An old apartment in Thanh Xuan (Hanoi) with an area of ​​64m2 and 2 bedrooms, which was advertised for sale at 5.2 billion VND (equivalent to over 81 million VND/m2) in early November, has now been reduced to 4.8 billion VND.

Another apartment in Nam Tu Liem district, measuring 60m2 with 2 bedrooms, was listed for sale at 3.8 billion VND at the end of October, but the owner has now lowered the price to 3.6 billion VND.

Mr. Pham Tuan (currently living in Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) recounted that since the end of September, his family had viewed many used apartments, but had to refuse to buy any because the prices were too high and the quality was not commensurate. After more than a month of searching without success, his family has temporarily put aside their plan to buy a house.

However, since mid-November, real estate agents have been constantly contacting him, offering him the same properties he had previously viewed at prices 200 to 400 million VND lower. For example, a 64m2, two-bedroom apartment in Tay Mo (Nam Tu Liem) that was offered for sale at 4.2 billion VND in October is now being offered for 3.9 billion VND, a reduction of 300 million VND.

He said that house prices have cooled down somewhat, but not significantly compared to the previous increase. Therefore, his family will continue to monitor the situation until the beginning of next year, and if prices fall further, they will consider buying.

An apartment complex in Hanoi (Photo: Tran Khang).

Hoang Anh, who is selling a 70m2 apartment in Ha Dong district, said that in September, many real estate agents repeatedly inquired about buying it for 5.2-5.4 billion VND, but she hadn't finalized the sale yet because she thought the price would increase further towards the end of the year.

However, since mid-November, no real estate agents have called to inquire about buying her apartment. Seeing the market stagnate, Ms. Hoang Anh proactively contacted many agents to help sell it, but all she received were the same answer: apartment prices have dropped. If she wants to sell, she would have to lower the price of the apartment to 4.9 billion VND to find a buyer.

Are apartment prices artificially inflated?

Mr. Truong Giang, the owner of a real estate brokerage firm in Hanoi, said that apartment transactions in Hanoi have decreased significantly in the past two months. The reason is that apartment prices have risen sharply, and buyers are adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

In addition, most of the apartments currently on the market are priced high, unsuitable for the majority of buyers. Currently, most of the units in your company's inventory are two-bedroom apartments priced around 5 billion VND.

"Apartments priced at 5 billion VND or more have been on the market for a very long time, sometimes for 3-4 months without finding a buyer. Previously, many homeowners had high expectations and continuously increased the selling price for fear of overpaying. Now, the market is experiencing liquidity issues, and some homeowners who are involved in business have to settle debts or previous loans, so they have lowered their asking prices to find buyers," he said.

Ms. Pham Mien, a real estate expert, noted that previously, apartment prices were pushed up very high. Some apartment owners, fearing they would sell at a loss, rushed to increase their asking prices. However, after a period of advertising at high prices, many found it difficult to sell and have now accepted lower prices.

"Recently, apartment prices in Hanoi have increased very rapidly and significantly. I believe this increase is artificial and far exceeds people's affordability. The high-priced demand has absorbed all the products put on the market. When only low-priced demand remains, but prices remain high, transactions will certainly decline," she said.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, the Hanoi real estate market has been experiencing an artificial price bubble for nearly a year. In particular, apartment prices have increased by over 50% in some areas, while land plots and residential land in districts soon to be upgraded to urban districts have increased by over 90%.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh proposed the urgent need to develop tools that can calculate a regular price index, similar to stock market indices, so that this index can be adjusted to best reflect the market.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/bat-dong-san/mai-chua-co-khach-mua-chu-chung-cu-ha-noi-ha-gia-rao-ban-20241227002025064.htm