Apartment prices "dance", difference of billions of dong after 1 month of sale

Looking to buy an apartment in My Dinh apartment building (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi), Ms. Van Anh said that a broker named Huong introduced her to an apartment with an area of ​​89 square meters, including 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, priced at 4.35 billion VND. After investigating, Ms. Van Anh discovered that for the same apartment, two other brokers offered two different prices, one was 50 million VND lower, the other was 20 million VND higher.

Broker Huong explained to her that it was understandable that the selling price between brokers differed by tens of millions of dong. In this price range, buyers could negotiate and agree on a buyer and seller. However, buying from an investor would be more expensive and more difficult to negotiate than buying directly from the homeowner.

According to this broker, within just one month, apartment prices in the My Dinh area increased from 50-100 million VND/unit.

However, the above figure is nothing, especially compared to apartments with moderate areas, which are considered more affordable for young families.

Also in need of buying a house, Ms. Thanh Ha (Ha Dong, Hanoi) said that in early August, she asked to buy a 72m2 apartment with 2 bedrooms on Tran Phu Street (Ha Dong, Hanoi). The broker advertised it for sale at 3.1 billion VND, equivalent to about 43 million VND/m2. When she came to see it, she saw that this apartment had only basic furniture.

In early September, the broker offered the same apartment for 3.9 billion VND, an increase of 800 million VND after only one month. The broker explained that the apartment was on a mid-floor, the project was close to a major road, next to the elevated train, and the owner had invested in additional furniture, so the increase of 800 million VND was "normal".

Another case is Ms. Duyen and her husband (Cau Giay, Hanoi), who want to buy an apartment in Bac Tu Liem apartment building, area 72.5m2, including 2 bedrooms, south-facing balcony and low floor.

On August 5, the broker took the couple to see an apartment priced at 4.5 billion VND. Seeing that the price was quite high, the couple did not decide yet, needing more time to think. Only half a month later, the broker texted to inform that the price of this apartment had increased to 4.9 billion VND, equivalent to nearly 68 million VND/m2.

"A month later, my husband and I asked the broker again, the price of that apartment was quoted at 5.5 billion VND, meaning that after only one month the broker increased it to 1 billion VND," said Ms. Duyen.

Mr. Tuan (a resident of An Binh apartment building, Bac Tu Liem) shared that in early July 2024, he was considering buying another apartment with an area of ​​112m2 in the same building, the broker advertised it for 6.5 billion VND. Seeing that the price was too high, he and his wife decided not to buy it to learn more, especially to find the owner.

“Last weekend, I asked my neighbors and found out that the apartment was sold for 7.4 billion VND. After 2 months, the apartment price increased by 1 billion VND,” he said.

However, according to Mr. Chung, a resident in the same building as Mr. Tuan who has a lot of experience in buying and selling houses, this is just a “playbook” of brokers, especially with customers who have no potential. After a while, when asked again, the broker will report that the apartment has been sold or has increased in price. The main purpose of the broker is to create a new price level, creating a sense of scarcity and regret for customers.

According to the survey, not only brokers, many homeowners when seeing the price of apartments increase also push up the selling price of apartments, making it impossible for those who have a real need to buy to negotiate. This causes the apartment market to increase in virtual prices.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Nam, General Director of G-Home, said that over the past year, apartment prices in Hanoi have set a new level, similar to Ho Chi Minh City. For many people, this price increase is a real “shock” because in just a short time, it is not uncommon for apartments to have nearly doubled in price.

“But there are also many cases of people following suit. Real estate brokers collude to push up local prices, regardless of real demand and the small number of transactions there, causing customers to follow the crowd mentality and fall into the trap and buy just because they are afraid of further price increases,” Mr. Nam warned.