Auction land market cools down after crazy fever more than a year ago

After the batches land auction In 2024, the market was very hot in the suburbs of Hanoi . The attraction of this market is currently cooling down. Many investors "holding" auctioned land are wanting to sell their goods, even accepting "cutting losses".

In contrast to the bustling scene in 2024, since the beginning of the year, land auction activities in the suburbs of Hanoi have shown a slowing trend. In many places, prices have dropped significantly.

For example, 34 plots of land in Thach That district (old) were auctioned in the middle of this year with the highest winning price of more than 56 million VND/m², down 3.3 times compared to the session in December 2024 (the highest winning price was more than 185 million VND/m²).

Similarly, 9 plots of land in Phuc Tho district (old) were also sold at the highest price of 47 million VND/m², down nearly 40% compared to the session in September last year. This session had more than 100 participants, down more than a third compared to the previous session.

Many auctioned lots have cooled down. (Illustration photo)

Mr. Nguyen Tien Thuat, a real estate broker in Hoai Duc commune, said he is advertising two plots of land from the previous owner, the selling price is only slightly higher than the winning price of 5 - 10 million/m², but for several months no one has asked.

Currently, Mr. Thuat's company has a number of auctioned land lots in Hoai Duc, Thanh Oai, and Quoc Oai (old) districts that investors have sent for sale since the beginning of 2025. However, the number of transactions is very small, with only 5 lots being traded at the same price as the investors who won and bought them back before.

According to Mr. Thuat, in fact, investors all sent a price difference of 200-300 million VND/lot for an area of 90-110m², but customers who bought all offered a lower price. After many times of raising and lowering, the investors decided to sell at the same price they had previously bought. The reason these investors needed to sell immediately was because the date to pay interest and principal to the bank had come but they had not yet turned the cash flow, so this could be considered a "loss-cutting" move to preserve capital.

According to Mr. Thuat, there are currently 4 plots of land in Hoai Duc with the winning auction price of about 85 million VND/m², the landowner wants to sell at the same price, the buyer will take care of the tax, but the customers who come to ask all complain that the price is too high and want to reduce it by 200 - 300 million VND/plot.

“ In the middle of last year, when the auction land market heated up, many investors jumped in to buy for profit, but a few months later the market reversed, liquidity slowed, and these investors were forced to sell to recover capital to pay off bank loans ,” said Mr. Thuat.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Anh, a real estate broker in Hanoi, also said that currently, many investors who have been holding auctioned land lots since August and September 2024 have been forced to lower the selling price to get rid of the goods.

For example, a 61m² plot of land in the old Thanh Oai district, with a winning price of about 70 million VND/m², equivalent to about 4.25 billion VND/plot, is currently being sold at a loss for about 4 billion VND.

Or another plot of land in the old Hoai Duc district had a winning price of about 85 million VND/m², but now it has also decreased to about 80 million VND/m².

According to Mr. Ngoc Anh, many auctioned lands have basic infrastructure but there is no future connection plan to expand regional connectivity, so there is not much potential for price increase.

Speculators buy and wait for prices to increase according to market trends, without evaluating the potential of the land. So when the market breaks down, they fall into a "bomb-holding" situation, forced to lower prices to cut losses.

In fact, in the areas surrounding the auctioned plots, the market price is around 50-60 million VND/m2, even some housing areas including construction costs are from 100-110 million VND/m2, while the auctioned plots are from 80-120 million VND/m2. If investors hold these plots, they will have bought them at the price of at least 3 years later.

Commenting on the current situation of land auctions, the leader of an auction company also said that the situation has cooled down a lot compared to before. For example, before an auction could have 1,000 applications. But now it has decreased to a few hundred. That is, on average, before there were about 40 - 50 applications per plot of land participating in the auction, but now there are only about 10 - 20 customers per plot of land. And the prices are also closer to reality, the situation of deposit cancellation no longer exists.

Land auctions are tightened

According to experts, land auctions are being tightened so there is no longer a virtual fever.

Commenting on the cooling down of land auctions, some real estate experts analyzed that land prices in previous auctions were pushed too high and when they far exceeded their real value, liquidity would become a big problem. Auction winners would have difficulty reselling because they could not find buyers, especially in the context of high bank loan interest rates and the real estate market facing capital challenges.

Another reason could be that buyers have "woke up" after the skyrocketing land prices, investors are no longer interested in paying too high a price to buy a plot of land and then having to work hard to sell it for a profit. Because they all see that the current price is too unrealistic, if they cannot find a buyer within a month, they will have to forfeit their deposit, so they are more cautious.

In addition, the suburban areas of Hanoi such as Hoai Duc, Thanh Oai or Phuc Tho mostly have uneven infrastructure development. These areas may be attractive in the short term, but the land prices are pushed up too high, which will not match the actual purchasing power of the market, leading to a prolonged situation of "holding land and waiting for the right time", reducing the attractiveness of auctioned land.

Besides, auctioned land The land is inherently special, the buyer must pay the full amount in a short time, no late payment is allowed. When the winning price is too high, the investor has little room to make a profit. If there is no plan to exploit, build, or develop the project, the auctioned land is just a piece of red paper in the safe.

Meanwhile, according to Mr. Nguyen Tien Thuat, one of the reasons for the cooling of land auctions is that the regulations on auctions are becoming more and more strict. In addition to increasing the deposit, the revised Law on Property Auction, which took effect at the beginning of this year, stipulates that violators can be banned from participating in auctions for up to 5 years, and can even be criminally prosecuted. Thanks to that, unlike the previous scene of competing to buy and sell, at many auctioned land sites, a series of trading floors and "makeshift" brokerage offices have closed.

In addition, the authorities have tightened inspection and handling of speculative behavior and manipulation of auction activities. In addition, new regulations on raising starting prices, increasing deposits, and strictly handling deposit abandonment have begun to take effect.

Mr. Pham Duc Toan, CEO of EZ Propert, analyzed that land prices in previous auctions were pushed too high and when they exceed the real value, liquidity will become a big problem. Auction winners will have difficulty reselling because they cannot find buyers, especially in the context of high bank loan interest rates and the real estate market facing challenges in capital sources.

" Poor liquidity may be the direct cause of the land auctions gradually cooling down ," Mr. Toan commented.

Another reason could be that buyers have "woke up" after the sharp increase in land prices. " Some investors are no longer interested in paying too high a price to buy a plot of land and then having to work hard to sell it for a profit. Because they all see that the current price is too unrealistic, if they cannot find a buyer within a month, they will have to forfeit their deposit, so they have become more cautious ," Mr. Toan added.

In addition, Mr. Toan said that the infrastructure development in the suburban areas of Hanoi is uneven. These areas may be attractive in the short term, but the land prices being pushed up too high will not match the actual purchasing power of the market, leading to a prolonged situation of "holding land and waiting for the right time", reducing the attractiveness of auctioned land.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/thi-truong-dat-dau-gia-ha-nhiet-sau-con-sot-dien-cuong-hon-1-nam-truoc-5063049.html