Hanoi surpasses HCMC in new rental costs

In the capital the price rose by 6% from the second quarter while in HCMC it fell by 12%, property consultancy Savills said in its market report for the quarter.

Giang Huynh, head of research at Savills HCMC, noted that a large drop in high-end supply has driven down prices in HCMC.

High-priced units accounted for just 2% of primary market supply while the medium- and low-priced segments accounted for 60% and 38%, she said.

Do Thu Hang, senior director of research and consulting at Savills Hanoi, said meanwhile there was a surge in supply in Hanoi this year, most of which was in the high-end segment, driving up the average price.

The gap between new apartment prices in Hanoi and HCMC, which used to be quite large, has been narrowing since the end of last year.

Data from property trading platform Batdongsan shows that the average apartment listing price on both the primary and secondary markets in Hanoi had reached VND50 million per square meter in May, on par with that of HCMC.

With low-priced apartments costing less than VND3 billion becoming increasingly scarce, Savills said owning a home has become more difficult than ever for many people.

A recent survey by VnExpress with over 3,000 respondents found that around 52% reported only being able to afford apartments priced below VND2 billion.

Savills forecast that Hanoi’s new apartment supply will increase in the future but still be dominated by mid-priced and high-end units.