Real Estate

The Abandoned Villa: A Haven for Pests, Yet Prices Soar

"A decade ago, ambitious construction projects were embarked upon in Ho Chi Minh City, yet today, these areas remain sparsely populated. Despite the apparent abandonment, asking prices for these properties continue to rise steadily."

Administrator

23 August, 2025

Abandoned Villas in Disarray

Since our article on the 6,000 billion VND urban area in Cat Lai and its grand villas turned into desolate homes, many readers on social media have shared additional insights about this area.

Specifically, a Facebook account holder named Anh Nguyen, who currently resides there, pointed out several ongoing issues with the urban area. Firstly, noise pollution: Due to its proximity to the port, residents often hear ship horns blaring. While the situation has improved, with horns no longer sounding after 10 pm, it still causes discomfort.

Secondly, infrastructure: While the Citi project is essentially complete, the Pho Dong area lacks proper planning, with narrow roads and incomplete construction work.

In terms of transportation: The main access road, Nguyen Thi Dinh, is shared with container trucks, leading to frequent traffic congestion. After 11 pm, the number of vehicles entering the port increases significantly, making it a concern for residents to cross.

Regarding the community: Most of the land here is owned, but mostly by land speculators, resulting in a sparse population.

Rows of villas and adjacent houses stand vacant in the Cat Lai Urban Area. Photo: Nguyen Hue

Another account holder, Nguyen Hai, noted that initially, property prices here were quite affordable, attracting residents from nearby areas, port workers, and people from Dong Nai province. However, prices have now skyrocketed, making buying and selling a challenge.

The Cat Lai Urban Area project in Ho Chi Minh City, with an investment of about 6,000 billion VND, was planned in 2010 with the expectation of becoming a modern urban area at the eastern gateway of the city. However, after more than a decade, many items remain unfinished, and dozens of land plots are still vacant.

According to the plan, the urban area is designed to accommodate nearly 27,000 residents, with a total of 6,746 units. These include 3,783 apartments (comprising 19 apartment blocks ranging from 5 to 25 stories), 2,072 villas, and 891 adjacent garden houses.

Hanging billboards in front of villas and townhouses in the Dong Tang Long Urban Area (Long Phuoc Ward, Ho Chi Minh City). Photo: Nguyen Hue

While some construction work is ongoing, the area is generally quiet. Numerous villas and adjacent houses are built splendidly but left abandoned. Many rows of houses are closed, with “for sale” or “for rent” signs hanging, affecting the overall appearance of the residential area.

“If we’re talking about the happiest places for mosquitoes and flies, it’s probably these villas and urban areas in Vietnam,” joked a Facebook user named Nam Vu.

Ho Chi Minh City’s Property Prices Remain High

Despite these issues, data from Batdongsan.com.vn shows that land prices in this area have increased by 57.6% in the past five years, from Q2/2020 to Q2/2025.

Currently, land prices average 64.6 million VND per square meter. Depending on the location and area, land plots are listed for sale from 8 to 20 billion VND.

This situation is not unique to the Cat Lai Urban Area; a similar scenario unfolds in the Dong Tang Long Urban Area (Long Phuoc Ward, Ho Chi Minh City).

This project, which broke ground in 2005, now sees numerous villas and townhouses bearing “for sale” or “for rent” signs. A VietnamNet survey in July 2025 revealed that less than one-tenth of the properties are occupied.

With a total residential floor area of about 1.23 million square meters, the project comprises 1,255 adjacent garden houses, 1,145 adjacent houses, 268 villas, and 44 apartment units. However, most buyers are investors looking to resell for profit, resulting in a meager actual resident population.

Nevertheless, property prices in this urban area have been steadily rising. According to a real estate website, prices increased by 11.3% from June 2024 to June 2025 and now average 77.9 million VND per square meter. Compared to 2020, prices have surged by 59.6%—a 5 billion VND house now costs nearly 8 billion VND.

The report on the real estate market in the first half of 2025 by the Institute of Building Economics (Ministry of Construction) also indicated that the average price of housing and land in the first half of 2025 continued to increase compared to the previous period. In Q2/2025, housing prices increased by 7.71% over the same period last year, while land prices also increased by 7.17%.

Ms. Cao Thi Thanh Huong, Senior Manager of Research at Savills Vietnam, shared that an important factor keeping housing prices high is land cost, which accounts for a large proportion of project development costs.

According to Ms. Huong, the state’s land price framework has never been adjusted downward, and the steps to review the land price framework after the merger are still under study. When input costs do not change, it is difficult to significantly adjust factors such as selling prices or investment scales.

In this context, Ho Chi Minh City’s property prices are expected to maintain their upward trend rather than decrease as hoped.

Tran Chung

– 09:54 21/08/2025