Batdongsan.com.vn’s quarterly report released on October 15 about the asking prices of apartments between Vietnam’s two biggest real estate markets, Hanoi and HCMC, shows that in Q3/2019, selling price and price growth in the apartment segment in the Southern city always went far beyond those in the capital city.
Specifically, the average asking price of HCMC apartments is 25% higher than Hanoi's. Comparing prices of apartments in central area of each city, the gap reached up to nearly 40%.
In particular, Batdongsan.com.vn compared prices of a series of apartment projects in Hanoi’s central district, including Ba Dinh, Hai Ba Trung and Tay Ho with other similar central districts of HCMC, namely Phu Nhuan, District 10, and District 3.
The average selling price of apartments in Hanoi’s central districts of Hai Ba Trung, Tay Ho, and Ba Dinh was VND36 million ($1,500), VND45 million ($1,900), and VND55 million ($2,300) per sqm, respectively. In Ho Chi Minh City, the central districts of Phu Nhuan, District 10, and District 3 saw much higher prices, of VND50 million ($2,100), VND55 million ($2,300), and VND77 million ($3,300) per sqm, respectively.
Accordingly, the average price of central apartments in Hanoi ranged from VND35-55 million/sqm, while those in HCMC have an average price of VND50-77 million/sqm. Thus, apartments in central areas of HCMC were 30-40% higher than ones in Hanoi.
The selling price in Ho Chi Minh City in the third quarter was VND37 million ($1,500) per sqm and price growth 11.8 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2018. Meanwhile, the selling price in Hanoi was VND29 million ($1,200) per sqm and price growth only 3.9 per cent.
In addition, the average rental price in the third quarter in Hanoi was VND11.1 million ($476) per month and the profit rate 5 per cent, compared to VN14.2 million ($609 per month) and 5.4 per cent in Ho Chi Minh City.
Besides, even at projects built in HCMC’s suburban district such as District 9, Binh Tan and Binh Chanh, the asking prices were also 20-25% higher than similar ones in Dong Anh, Ha Dong, Hoang Mai of Hanoi.
In areas outside of the center of Hanoi such as the districts of Dong Anh, Ha Dong, and Hoang Mai, the average selling price was VND20 million ($858), VND20 million ($858), and VND23 million ($987) per sqm, respectively. Meanwhile, in the districts of Binh Tan, Binh Chanh and District 9 in Ho Chi Minh City, the average selling price was VND25 million ($1,000), VND25 million ($1,000), and VND29 million ($1,200) per sqm, respectively.
Not only in the apartment segment, the average growth rate of house and townhouse prices in HCMC was also higher than that in Hanoi. Regarding private house, the price increase in Hanoi was about 10%, while HCMC witnessed an increase of up to 26%. Townhouses in the Southern city also saw an average price increase of 12.6%, far exceeding the increase of 7.6% in Hanoi market. Prices of such houses in HCMC’s District 3 and District 5 rose from 13-18% over the same period last year, while those in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh and Hai Ba Trung only increased by 2-3%.
According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hieu, Head of the Market Research Department at Batdongsan.com.vn, Ho Chi Minh City is more attractive than Hanoi in terms of selling price, rental price, rate of return, and profit margin due to it being the leading engine of economic development in the country, despite Hanoi’s economy developing.
He also pointed out that the openness of the economy in Ho Chi Minh City is greater, and as such most foreign companies coming to Vietnam choose the city for their representative office. “Real estate products in the city are more diverse than in Hanoi, while population growth in Ho Chi Minh City has continually increased over the years, attracting a large number of workers from all parts of the country as well as foreign experts,” he added.
