Every day after work, in their cramped 20-sq m rental room, Nguyen Thoa and her husband, temporarily residing in Thanh Xuan Ward, Hanoi, dream of owning an apartment.

“House prices keep rising every day. I looked into some apartment projects under construction, and they’re all priced around VND100 million/sq m. I don’t know when our dream of owning a home will come true,” Thoa said.

The Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS) has reported that in the first half of 2025, over 10,000 apartments were launched in Hanoi. Despite the increase, supply is increasingly misaligned with demand.

Since the third quarter of 2024, Hanoi’s real estate market has not recorded any new apartment projects launched with prices below VND60 million/sq m. In the first half of this year, 60 percent of new apartment supply were units priced above VND80 million/sq m.

This imbalance is expected to persist as projects with prices around VND100 million/sq m continue to increase.

Surveys indicate that both listed and “rumored” prices for new projects in Hanoi are currently very high.

Apartments at Hausman Premium Residences in FLC Premier Parc urban area in Dai Mo ward have an announced average price of VND120 million/sq m (before discount). 

Another project at the Le Quang Dao - Me Tri intersection, Tu Liem ward, has an average price of VND130 million/sq m (excluding VAT and maintenance fees). This price is double what the developer offered in the first phase four years ago.

In Long Bien, the Long Bien Central project is expected to exceed VND120 million/s qm.

Other ongoing projects have sky-high prices. For instance, the Greenera Southmark project in Thanh Tri commune (formerly Thanh Tri district) has a rumored price of around VND80 million/sq m.

Similarly, the Galia Hanoi project in Yen So ward (formerly Hoang Mai district) is testing the market with an average price of VND82 million/sq m.

Notably, a project in Cau Giay ward is expected to have prices no lower than VND150 million/sq m.

Pham Duc Toan, General Director of EZ Property, confirmed that since early 2025, apartment supply in Hanoi has started to increase. However, new projects come with very high prices. Some long-delayed projects have re-entered the market, such as the Hanoi Signature project on Nguyen Van Huyen street (Cau Giay ward), priced above VND200 million/sq m.

Explaining the rising prices, Toan said that some developers are 'anchoring' their prices to previous market surges in order to push prices higher.

Additionally, some projects take many years to develop, leading to significant financial costs. Certain developers also position their products at premium price points.

However, Toan cautioned that market liquidity is declining, and the high asking prices are exceeding the affordability of most people.

“The current supply is dominated by a small group of developers. They position their products at high prices, almost as if they’re ‘monopolizing the market’ to manipulate prices, creating a new price benchmark to maximize their profits,” Toan said.

He believes the market is expected to see more supply soon, with nearly 300 projects to be implemented under the National Assembly’s Resolution 171/2024, allowing pilot commercial housing projects through land-use rights agreements or on land with existing rights, rather than being limited to residential land as before.

Social housing projects and housing for armed forces and police personnel are also set to be rolled out extensively. Additionally, the renovation of old apartment buildings in the city center will create a more abundant supply. This will provide buyers with a wider range of products and price options.

Prior to that, in its report released in early August, the Institute of Construction Economics (Ministry of Construction) said secondary housing supply in the first half of this year showed a slight increase compared to the same period last year, with Hanoi up 5.4 percent and HCM City up 8.7 percent.

However, absorption rates declined, with Hanoi dropping 12.7 percent and HCM City down 6.8 percent. Despite the increased supply, buyers remain hesitant, especially for high-priced products.

The institute noted that the market’s product structure remains imbalanced as developers continue to focus on mid- and high-end segments. The affordable segment, which is in high demand among home buyers, is increasingly scarce.

In Hanoi, apartments priced above VND5 billion make up over 55.6 percent of the secondary supply, while those under VND2 billion account for only 3.9 percent.

Hong Khanh