Cheap houses are scarce, many people are looking to buy apartments without pink books.

The Hanoi apartment market has just experienced an unprecedented "wave" of price increases. At times, the price of used apartments fluctuated daily.

According to data from PropertyGuru Vietnam, from December 2023, apartment searches began to increase again, and by March this year, they were approaching the peak of August 2023.

However, in April, the level of interest in Hanoi apartments decreased by 23% compared to the previous month.

However, the selling prices of apartments in Hanoi show no signs of decreasing. In April, the affordable segment (under VND30 million/m2) increased by 12% compared to the previous month. Mid-range apartments (VND30-50 million/m2) also increased by 5% and high-end apartments (over VND50 million/m2) increased by 3%.

The high price of apartments has forced many people to look for apartments without pink books with "softer" prices.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Thanh (Ba Dinh, Hanoi) has an apartment without a pink book in Hoang Mai district with an area of ​​54 square meters including 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, currently for sale at 1.85 billion VND. Mr. Thanh bought this apartment in 2019 from the investor for 1.2 billion VND. Thus, compared to the time of purchase from the investor, Mr. Thanh is now selling it for an increase of 650 million VND.

"Because I need money for business, I decided to sell my apartment. Compared to many apartments in this area, my apartment is much cheaper. It's hard to find an apartment this cheap at this time," said Mr. Thanh.

The apartment owner added that the residents have now moved in quite crowdedly and stably. Regarding the legal issue of not having a pink book, it is said that the investor is facing some internal difficulties. They also promised to soon issue the books for the residents.

Mr. Thanh said that there were quite a lot of customers coming to see his apartment. "Many customers with good intentions wanted to buy and negotiated a discount of 50-100 million VND for them. However, I am still considering it," Mr. Thanh said.

Ms. Mai Thi Ha Anh (Hai Phong) shared that she and her husband work as workers at a garment factory in Hanoi. Their income is limited, so even though they have lived in Hanoi for more than 10 years, they still cannot buy a house.

After saving and borrowing 1.8 billion VND from relatives, the couple had to accept buying an apartment without a red book on Thanh Dam Street (Hoang Mai District, Hanoi).

The apartment is 84 square meters, 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Although the quality is average, this apartment complex is quite airy and the price is almost the cheapest on the market today.

However, the investor has not been able to issue the red book due to tax arrears for many years. However, many residents still buy and sell apartments here normally.

In fact, there are many apartment buildings in the market that have been put into operation but do not have pink books. Apartments in these buildings are still being traded and buyers accept to buy without a book.

In terms of price, apartments without pink books will be cheaper than apartments with red books in the same area. Therefore, many people accept the risk and pay to buy with the desire to settle down.

According to experts, it is understandable that rising housing prices are forcing many people to look for apartments without pink books because they are cheaper than the market price. However, this type of apartment poses many risks for buyers.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh - Vice President of Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA), President of Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association (VARS) - said that the supply of apartments is decreasing, especially in the affordable segment. In addition, input costs such as construction materials, capital costs, labor, etc. are increasing, causing the price of new houses to increase.

"Not only new apartments, but also used apartments have increased in price recently. However, in reality, buying an apartment without a red book/pink book can cause many risks for the buyer. Therefore, before paying, home buyers need to carefully consider legal factors," said Mr. Dinh.

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Giang Anh Tuan, Director of Tuan Anh Real Estate, also commented that housing prices are constantly increasing, so apartments priced at 20 - 25 million VND/m2 are almost gone, even though they have been used for decades.

Therefore, apartments without a pink book are sold at a price from a few hundred to a billion VND cheaper, which will be the choice of customers with limited finances. Therefore, apartments without a pink book and at a cheap price are also very easy to resell.

However, the low price comes with certain risks, and due to incomplete legal documents, there is a limitation that buyers cannot use it as collateral for bank loans.

In addition, when notarizing, both parties must present the most recent sales contract and the sales process must be approved by the investor. Because there are some cases that will be invalidated if the investor's confirmation is ignored.

People need to understand this information before deciding to buy an apartment without a pink book.