In the heart of Hanoi, there are extremely small houses, some as tiny as 4 square meters, yet owners refuse to sell even when offered 4 billion VND. These ultra-slim houses can easily be mistaken for walls or utility poles if one doesn’t look closely.
Broker T. in Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi, is offering a 4-square-meter, four-story house on Le Thanh Nghi street, Bach Khoa ward. Despite an offer of 4 billion VND, which equates to 1 billion VND per square meter, the owner declined to sell.
The owner, who lives on the third floor and runs a tea shop on the ground floor, shared that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the space was used to sell fast food, mainly takeout xoi, banh mi, and coffee.
The house barely fits a staircase. Photo: Tien Anh |
“But since the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of customers has decreased significantly, so I decided to ‘retire early’ and just sell tea,” she said.
As observed, the house’s interior barely accommodates a staircase, with almost no extra space for furniture. The third floor, where the owner lives, is also very modest, with a passageway just wide enough for one person.
The owner revealed that she has two other similarly slim houses nearby. The slightly larger one is rented out for a food business at 10 million VND per month, while the smaller one is a cellphone repair shop, rented for 8 million VND per month.
On real estate forums, when brokers posted about selling this ultra-slim house, reader Lam Anh commented: “With its location and price, it would be better for the owner behind to buy it and use it as a facade.”
Other forum members agreed that, despite its roadside location, the house had little potential for business. The owner’s decision to use it for a tea shop and reject a 4-billion VND offer suggests that financial gain is not their primary concern.
Similarly, on Truong Chinh street (Dong Da district, Hanoi), a broker is selling a house with a 3-meter frontage and a depth of just 1 meter.
Broker Yen offered this corner-lot house for 2 billion VND. Despite its shallow depth, the relatively wide frontage makes it suitable for a sidewalk cafe or takeout business.
The wall of this house even has a sign that says “Ngo 5 Truong Chinh” (Lane 5 Truong Chinh), and when viewed from the back, many would mistake it for a lane wall.
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 The house resembles a pole or a wall, and one must look closely to identify it as a house. Photo: Tien Anh |
Commenting on the broker’s post, Cuong Do said that just because a property is on a main road or close to the center doesn’t mean it can command a high price. Buyers should carefully consider the functionality, potential for living or investing, and business potential.
Minh Nguyen, another user, shared that people sometimes fill in the gaps next to their houses with bricks and corrugated iron to create new ones. This raises legal concerns for both owners and tenants.
“If the area is that small, they will likely use the sidewalk for business, affecting the urban landscape and inconveniencing pedestrians,” they worried.
Tien Anh
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