Posing as a real estate investor, our reporter approached multiple brokers in Hoa Binh, Ha Nam, and Nam Dinh provinces, among others. They all shared the same sentiment: the market is “hot,” causing land prices to soar daily.
In Ha Nam, we expressed interest in investing in several land lots in a new urban area in Phu Ly city, known for its convenient transportation and well-developed infrastructure, including electricity, roads, clean water, and a synchronized drainage system. Not to mention, the prices were reasonable and ensured profitability.
We were approached by Duc Huy, an experienced land broker, who enthusiastically introduced almost a dozen land lots in an urban area in Liêm Tuyền, Phu Ly city. All these adjacent lots had an area of 90 square meters, with a width of 5 meters and a depth of 18 meters. The sidewalk was 5 meters wide, and the road was 7 meters wide.
Land prices in many areas are advertised by brokers as skyrocketing.
Pointing to a lot facing south, with a drainage manhole in the middle of the sidewalk and an electrical box between two houses, Huy said: “Because this lot has the disadvantages of both the manhole and the electrical box, the owner is selling it cheaper than the adjacent lots. The price is VND 25 million/square meter. The total amount to be paid is VND 2.25 billion. This is a rare bargain at this point in time. Other lots are priced at VND 28 million/square meter.”
Sensing our hesitation, Huy urged: “For almost a month now, there has been an influx of investors looking to buy land here due to the news of the upcoming opening of Bach Mai and Viet Duc Hospitals’ second branches. As a result, land prices in this area will surge. If you don’t act fast, you’ll miss out on this opportunity,” he added.
Interestingly, just a day later, Huy informed us that the owner had increased the price by VND 1.5 million/square meter due to high demand and the market getting “hotter.” However, when we disagreed with this unusual and unreasonable price hike, Huy changed his tune: “I’ll convince the owner to give you a discount of VND 500,000/square meter. If you don’t act fast, you’ll lose this preferential offer.”
In Nam Dinh province, real estate brokers are also spreading news that the market is “heating up daily” to justify increasing land prices.
Do Van Dang, a broker in the outskirts of Nam Dinh, introduced an attractive project with a high potential for profitability in Giao Thuy district. According to Dang, this district is planned to become one of the four growth poles of the province and is set to be a coastal economic development area, along with Nghia Hung, Hai Hau, and Xuan Truong districts.
Giao Thuy district, Nam Dinh province – where brokers advertise land prices as “heating up daily.”
“The coastal road – the economic axis connecting Nam Dinh city to Lac Quan – is in the process of unification, creating two economic development corridors. This is one of the reasons for the increase in the real estate value of Giao Thuy. Currently, I have a few land lots facing the seaside square, with an area of 100 square meters, fully residential, and a 5-meter frontage. The price ranges from VND 1 billion to VND 1.5 billion per lot, depending on the location. These lots have tremendous potential,” Dang advertised.
“In just one morning, almost a dozen lots in the second row, with a view of the beach, found new owners. So, consider investing now, or you might miss out,” he added, not forgetting to boast about the signed deposit contracts. However, upon further investigation, we learned that both investors who had made deposits on these two lots were part of a group of land brokers in Giao Thuy district.
Similarly, in other localities like Hoa Binh and Vinh Phuc, the “crows” continuously invited customers to buy land, warning that land prices in provincial areas were continuously rising due to the influx of homebuyers and investors from Hanoi, who could not find affordable housing in the city.
However, according to our findings, the number of land transactions in many localities has not increased significantly this year. For example, out of ten successful transactions, nine were made by investors or brokers who pooled money to invest and then looked for buyers to transfer the properties for a profit.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Vice President of the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA), commented that recently, although the market has been gradually “warming up,” the number of real estate transactions has only slightly increased in some segments in the inner city, such as apartments and houses in alleys… However, in the outskirts, more than 15 kilometers from the city center, transactions are still very limited. There is no “hot” market causing prices to rise daily, as brokers claim.
“However, in many regions without investment activity, there is still a ‘hot’ and ‘feverish’ market, which I warn is abnormal and a fake market,” Mr. Dinh said.
“The price increase in some regions may not reflect the actual market. These prices do not accurately represent the market’s true state, so investors and customers need to be extremely cautious. When high-quality, well-planned, and reputable projects increase in value, that’s when we can say it’s a real market,” Mr. Dinh advised.
