100 million VND/m2, old apartment buildings are more expensive than luxury apartments

Selling price from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of VND/m2

Many old apartment buildings in central districts of Hanoi are now selling for as much as luxury apartments. According to a survey by reporters, many old apartment buildings in the inner city, some of which are degraded, are still being sold for 50-80 million VND/m2, even up to 100 million VND/m2.

For example, a collective apartment at 2 Le Phung Hieu, Trang Tien ward (Hoan Kiem district) with an area of ​​36.4 square meters is for sale at 3.02 billion VND.

According to the seller, the apartment is on the 5th floor of the apartment complex, the area in the "red book" is 36.4m2, of which 33.7m2 is the residential area, the remaining 2.7m2 is the balcony area. However, the actual usable area of ​​the residential part is about 43m2, including the living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom.

With a selling price of more than 3 billion VND, according to the area on the "red book", each square meter of this old apartment costs nearly 83 million VND.

Or the apartment in Thanh Cong collective housing area on Nguyen Hong street, Thanh Cong ward (Dong Da district) has an area of ​​38 square meters, and is for sale at 2.6 billion VND.

The apartment has a red book in the owner's name, the actual area is only 38m2, but the usable area can be up to 80m2 and is located on the 3rd floor of the apartment complex. Thus, this apartment costs more than 68 million VND/m2.

Notably, a 30m2 apartment building on Kim Ma Thuong Street, Cong Vi Ward (Ba Dinh District) is being offered for sale at a price of 3.1 billion VND. That is, about 103 million VND/m2.

This apartment has only 1 bedroom, but according to the seller, it is located on the 1st floor, the apartment frontage is 3.5m, so it is convenient for business rental.

Also for sale at a price of up to 100 million VND/m2, a collective apartment on the 1st floor, in Hang Bong alley, Hang Buom ward (Hoan Kiem district) is priced at 3.3 billion VND, the area in the red book is 32.9m2.

The seller said that the actual usable area of ​​the apartment is 42 square meters and has a 15 square meter mezzanine, larger than the area in the “red book”. The apartment has a frontage of more than 4 meters, about 50 meters from Hang Buom street. It is currently rented as a homestay for 15 million VND/month.

According to a survey, for old apartment buildings in Thanh Xuan or Ha Dong districts, further from the center of Hanoi, the selling price fluctuates around 24 - 39 million VND/m2.

Why old apartment buildings are still sought after

Ms. Nguyen Ha has just bought an old apartment on Luong Ngoc Quyen Street, Ha Dong District for 1.5 billion VND after a period of house searching.

Ms. Ha said that it is quite difficult to find apartments that have been used for several years at a price of 1.5 billion VND, suitable for her family's finances. Or if there are apartments, they do not have a pink book.

Therefore, she decided to buy an old apartment because it was located on the first floor, convenient for her online sales, and had a "red book" available.

Meanwhile, Ms. Thanh Huong, a broker in Hanoi, said that the supply of collective apartments for sale is not too much, and her current inventory only has a few apartments.

According to Ms. Huong, for those with finances of more than 1 billion VND, they choose to buy old collective houses because they almost do not have to pay service fees and maintenance fees like in apartments, so they can save a sum of money on regular monthly expenses.

If you can buy an apartment that has been renovated by the previous owner, you can just move in and there is no need to spend more money on renovation or furniture.

As for customers who have 2-3 billion VND, they choose to buy old collective apartments in the central district because the location is convenient for their children's school commute and their parents' work commute.

“The supply of apartments in inner-city districts is not much, and the prices are high. While the price per square meter of collective housing is high, although the area in the “red book” is small, the actual usable area is larger due to the apartments being expanded from before. Therefore, 2-3 billion VND is enough to buy a collective apartment,” said Ms. Huong.

With her experience, Ms. Huong believes that when looking for collective apartments, buyers need to understand the regulations and information about the house's usage period to ensure their rights when the old collective house needs to be renovated.