In the Ghost Month, Hanoi apartment prices are still soaring

Not only do prices suddenly increase sky-high, there are real estate floors, with project investors behind them, who also use ambiguous information and create artificial scarcity to push up prices and lure buyers into a maze.

Another trick to create shortage of goods and push up prices

VTC News reporters continuously received calls inviting them to buy projects in Ha Dong, Bac Tu Liem, Hoang Mai districts... with sky-high prices. There are projects that have opened for sale in the first phase, shocking customers with prices reaching over 80 - 90 million VND/m2, most other projects have prices from 39 million VND/m2 or more.

To reassure buyers, real estate brokers also use many tricks to lure customers into a maze.

Staff Cuong introduced The Sakura building (Tay Mo, Nam Tu Liem) with Japanese style. Cuong offered 2 payment options for customers to choose from.

Specifically, with option 1, if the customer chooses to pay in progress from their own money, they will receive an 8% discount. The total price of the apartment after discount is 2 billion 101 million VND, paid in 7 installments, installment 1: 15% to sign the sales contract, installments 2 to 5 are 2 to 4 months apart.

Each installment is 5-10%. The 6th installment will be paid in October 2023 and the remaining 50% will be paid upon receiving the house. With this option, the apartment value will be equivalent to more than 49 million 200 thousand VND/m2.

Scarcity of goods, apartment prices are pushed up sky high (Illustration photo).

Option 2 that Cuong offers for customers to choose is to borrow capital from the bank. Accordingly, if choosing the support method from the bank, the total value of the 42.7 m2 apartment is 2 billion 284 million VND, customers will have to pay 25% of the apartment value, divided into 2 installments, installment 15% to sign the sales contract, installment 2 is 10% 45 days after installment 1. The remaining 70% is supported by the bank with a policy of exempting principal and interest payments within 24 months. By October 2024, when receiving the house, customers still do not have to pay interest and principal. With the bank loan option, the apartment value is equivalent to 53 million 500 thousand VND/m2.

Reporters also continuously received phone calls inviting them to buy the Hanoi Melody Linh Dam Project, which was at one point offered for sale with a 28% discount.

Coming to the project sales office on the first floor of this project, witnessing the bustling scene of customers and floor staff coming and going, people coming to see the model home feel like reliving the period of real estate "possessed". However, sitting for a while, it is enough to realize that brokers and project consultants account for 3/4 of the customers present.

A broker named Pham Duc Duy said that Hanoi is increasingly lacking in luxury apartment projects because no new licenses will be granted in the near future. Particularly, the Hanoi Melody Linh Dam project has a swimming pool, a multi-purpose sports field, a walking garden, a kindergarten, and Chu Van An Primary School right next door.

The project consists of 4 29-storey apartment towers with modern and sophisticated design with more than 2,000 luxury apartments with diverse areas from 68 to 145m2, functions from 2 to 3 bedrooms.

"Up to this point, most of the apartments have been sold out, customers who want to buy must buy them back from the investors, the lowest price difference is 200 million VND/apartment. For the few remaining apartments, if you don't close the deal quickly, next month the investor will increase the price again. Currently, I have 2 apartments facing Southeast with internal prices, if you buy, I will ask the investor for support," Duy said.

And the internal price of this project that Duy gave for an 82 m2 apartment is 3.2 billion VND for an apartment facing the inner area, equivalent to a price of about 39 million/m2, handing over basic furniture. However, according to the reporter's actual investigation at the project, this project has had to temporarily stop construction since the beginning of the year for unknown reasons.

While speaking, this employee took out his phone and took a screenshot: " We just had a customer close the apartment ." Seeing the customer express his annoyance: "If there are really only 2 apartments left, why are you making customers register in a long line? ", the employee immediately whispered to the customer to ask for a deposit so that after the Ngau month, the investor can open a new sale.

“ If you want an apartment with a balcony facing the lake, you have to wait for the second phase of the investor's sale and deposit 50 million VND. The price of the second phase is expected to increase by 5-10% compared to the price of the first phase. We sold out the first phase in just 2 weeks, ” said the consultant.

The same tactic of creating shortage of goods also happened when the luxury apartment project The Terra An Hung, Ha Dong district, also suddenly announced that all 3-bedroom apartments facing Southeast balcony were sold out. Price from 38.51 million VND/m2 depending on the floor.

“We are going to release the last batch of remaining floors soon, but the price is expected to increase. Whether you buy to live or invest, it will be profitable because now Hanoi has no more projects in the center like ours,” said a broker named Quyet.

Overvalued, hard to find buyers

It can be seen that the real estate market, after a period of paralysis due to lack of goods and capital, has suddenly revived, surprising many people in the industry.

Responding to VTC News on the morning of August 20, Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh - Vice President of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, also President of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokerage Association - said that in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, there are currently no new projects, so there is a shortage of goods. The scarcity is also due to the fact that project owners, especially floors and groups of brokers, want to create a psychological effect of creating a fake scarcity, stimulating those in need to "buy now before it's gone".

Many customers came to see the apartment but still hesitated to put down a deposit because the apartment price was pushed up too high (Illustration photo).

“The current apartment price is very high, but it is only in the range of 2.5 - 5 billion VND, and is still suitable for many people's ability, while the price of real estate is more than 10 billion VND, that product is beyond the ability of most workers to pay, so it is very difficult. Therefore, apartments are a very suitable product, so it is natural that the price is pushed up,” said Mr. Dinh.

“In the old concept, people should not buy, sell, or transact, especially real estate, in the seventh lunar month. Now, the concept has changed. Buying is fine, so people also take the opportunity to learn about projects to buy.

Also catching this psychology, many brokers and transaction offices also create a shortage of goods, pushing up prices to make a profit after a period when housing, real estate, and apartment projects "stand still", Mr. Dinh added.

According to Mr. Dinh, in the coming time, if the State does not create conditions for the development of new projects, the more scarce goods will be, the higher the price of apartments will be.

"Of course, the high price is only within a certain limit, can be paid and close to the real value, but if the virtual price is too high, people and investors will have to recalculate and not rush to buy immediately. But now, with a price of 40 million VND/m2 or more, it is very high, and if it is higher, the apartment is equal to the price of land, there will definitely be no buyers" , Mr. Dinh affirmed.

PHAM DUY

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