The Soaring Property Market in Hanoi: Midnight Rain Can’t Stop Buyers in Their Tracks

The Hanoi real estate market has been on a roll since the start of 2024, with all segments, from apartments to land and villas, experiencing a surge in demand. This fever isn’t limited to the city center anymore; the heat is spreading to the suburban districts and counties as supply remains scarce.

Recently, auction land in the outskirts of Hanoi has been attracting attention with sky-high winning bids. This has further fueled the demand for apartments and land in the inner city. Consequently, the number of potential buyers viewing properties has increased significantly over the past month, despite it being the seventh lunar month, when people usually refrain from buying or constructing houses.

Mr. Nam, a real estate broker in Thanh Xuan, shared, “Nowadays, buyers no longer hesitate to view and purchase properties during the seventh lunar month. Many people are actively looking, and if they find a suitable option, they will make a deposit and wait for the eighth lunar month, considered an auspicious time, to finalize the transaction.”

According to Mr. Nam, the number of houses available for sale in the market is limited, so whenever a property is listed, there is a rush of potential buyers. “For a recently listed five-story house priced at VND 7.2 billion, I showed the property to over a dozen groups of customers from morning till midnight. The owner had to assign someone to stay at the house to let customers in. Especially in the evening, there was a surge of visitors. A young couple even made an appointment to view the property at 10 p.m.,” he added.

Mr. Thang, another real estate broker, confirmed the increase in house viewings during the evening hours. “I’ve noticed that after the shocking increase in apartment prices in Hanoi over the past month or so, the interest in land has also intensified. Just last night, a real estate transaction was concluded after 10 p.m., despite the heavy rain and wind in Hanoi. The buyer negotiated the final price with the owner, made a deposit, and scheduled the notarization,” Mr. Thang recounted.

Mr. Thang also noted that currently, the demand and purchasing power of buyers are very strong. If they find a suitable property, they will act quickly for fear of missing out. Especially for alley houses in Hanoi priced at over VND 5 billion, there is a mix of buyers looking for a home and investors seeking a “reasonable” investment opportunity.

According to Mr. Thang, those who decide to make a purchase at this stage are mostly afraid of losing out to other buyers. Many of them have missed out on good deals in the past and had to pay a high price, literally, as Hanoi’s property prices soared.

According to a survey by a real estate market research company, more than 50% of respondents are considering and actively preparing to buy a house in the next year. Most of these potential buyers have a middle-income range and have the financial resources to make a transaction.

Onehousing’s Q2 2024 report on Hanoi’s residential land market showed that in the first half of 2024, the total number of residential land transactions in Hanoi reached 22,000, with a sharp increase in April, followed by a decrease in May and June. Although there was a decrease, the number of transactions in May and June reached 3,700 per month, higher than the beginning of the year.

The districts in the West ( Cau Giay, Nam Bac Tu Liem, and Ha Dong) had the most transactions, accounting for 40% of the total residential land transactions in Hanoi, with 9,000 units, 1.5 times higher than the East.

For the last six months of 2024, the residential land market is expected to record 23,000 transactions, mainly in the East and West of the city.