Apartment prices increase despite the epidemic

After more than a year of searching and pondering, Le Quyet recently decided to buy a 65m2 apartment in a new project in Tay Mo (Hanoi). Having more than 2 billion in hand, before that, he confidently easily found an apartment he liked. But the purchase and sale took longer than expected because of the interruption through 4 epidemics, mostly not because of Covid-19 but because he had the mentality of waiting for house prices to drop.

"I thought the epidemic, the market was less active, so I just waited for the price to drop before buying. In the end, I missed the house I liked and now I even have to borrow a few hundred million more to buy a house, I'm not really satisfied. At this time, if you don't buy, the house price will still go up, you just don't have a house to live in, and you can also extend the loan," Quyet said.

Mai Huong (District 2, Ho Chi Minh City) invested in a nice corner apartment in a project in the East of the city at the end of 2019. Recently, she was quite surprised when she received many calls asking if she would sell the apartment or not. in which the broker who transacted with her previously also asked for a price increase of 10% compared to the time she bought it.

"This is the second apartment I bought from my idle money. If the price goes up, I will sell it. My expectation is that my profit will be about 15-20% of the initial investment. If not, I keep it for future use. long-term rental", Ms. Huong shared.

Mr. Quyet and Ms. Huong are two of many homebuyers who witnessed the real estate scene being immune to the epidemic. According to data from the Vietnam Association of Realtors, over the past time, many projects have been absorbed by the market at 90%. For example, in Ho Chi Minh City, projects with a selling price of 40 million per m2 in just 2-3 months consume up to 95%.

One of the reasons pushing up the price of apartments is due to the scarcity of supply and few new projects being opened for sale. The report of the Vietnam Association of Realtors shows that, in Hanoi, in the first half of 2021, the number of apartments offered for sale on the market is 17,840 products, equal to 85.1% over the same period in 2020. Similarly, in Ho Chi Minh City, there are 9,820 apartments offered for sale in the first half of 2021, reaching only 55% over the same period in 2020. The lack of supply is due to legal restrictions of many projects.

Besides, the price of construction materials and construction investment factors have both increased by about 50% (this cost group accounts for more than 50% of real estate input costs) which also has a great impact on apartment prices. .

According to some investors, they are now ready for prolonged Covid-19 response scenarios due to their experience from previous outbreaks. Therefore, a price reduction is very unlikely, especially when the supply in the market is as scarce as it is today. Even in the segment of high-end apartments in two big cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, there are projects with high prices from about 100-700 million VND/m2, but the product absorption rate is still low. increase.

This shows that the real estate market is still quite positive despite the pandemic's strong impact on many fields. "The real estate market will not experience a crisis. The market's difficulties often come from external factors, not internal," said Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh - General Secretary of the Vietnam Brokerage Association.

Huy Cong, a veteran real estate investor in Hanoi, said that there are still many customers with a large amount of money that have not been affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. Therefore, when a suitable high-end real estate project "falls into view", they can fully afford to buy it. With the same investment, buyers now tend to buy houses in integrated eco-urban areas, rather than buy land and build it themselves.

Those who have real living needs tend to move from the old alley house to a modern urban area with full facilities. It is also from the increased demand for working from home during the pandemic, that has begun to form a trend to focus on workspaces in the future home. Urban housing associated with spacious living space, many trees, close to the water surface, convenient for exercise, shopping, entertainment, health care... are being interested by buyers every day. one many.

Safe investment channel

In times of economic crisis and pandemic, real estate is still considered an asset shelter to ensure safety and profitability. At present, the comparison between investment channels shows that stocks and gold are often less stable and not easy to grasp, especially for a group of new and experienced investors. Besides, savings deposit interest rates are low, common below 5%/year, so it is difficult to attract people's accumulated money. Meanwhile, real estate businesses are still very actively clinging to the market, pushing liquidity even during the time of implementing social distancing, through many forms such as introduction and online sales. Therefore, real estate is still considered an investment channel that people give top priority.

Thanh Hung, an investor in Hanoi, said that although the stock market has been on the rise, he is still consistent with his goal of real estate investment. "I believe that investment must be long-term and investors need a strategy in each period. Therefore, as long as possible, I still keep the existing products. The market right now is not for those who have a purpose. surf," the investor said.

In a survey on investment channels on VnExpress in July, it attracted more than 70,000 votes, of which real estate accounted for 32%. Recently, Vinacapital released a report in which the Vietnamese people prioritize the real estate investment channel, while gold also loses its attractiveness when the domestic price difference is also 17% higher than the world market.

"However, investment money still flows into real estate businesses through the stock market. Over the past time, many stocks of real estate companies have been poured money by investors because of their long-term profit potential. ", Mr. Hung said and said, thanks to the financial force, after the epidemic is under control, it will be a period of massive sales of many businesses, the market will be vibrant again.

Currently, Vietnam is active in community vaccination. The number of people getting vaccinated is expected to grow rapidly. According to the Covid-19 vaccination portal, Vietnam currently has more than 16 million doses of vaccine injected. The government is aiming for 50% of workers in big cities to have access to vaccines in the third quarter of this year.

According to investors, if the plan can go according to schedule, the demand for real estate transactions is expected to grow rapidly in the coming months.