Le Dinh Hung and his wife decided not to buy a cramped, dark house in an alley, and instead chose to rent an apartment in central Hanoi, enjoying comfortable living conditions while preserving financial flexibility.

With VND6-7 billion in hand, many believe they can easily purchase a desirable house in Hanoi. However, in reality, this only covers homes under 30 sqm, located deep in narrow alleys.

Raising the maximum auction deposit to 50 percent would help verify the financial capacity of investors while also curbing speculative price manipulation and withdrawal after winning a bid, experts say. The proposal, however, has raised concerns.

Most newly launched apartments in Hanoi in the second quarter 2025 were priced above VND4 billion. The current prices are at a high level, causing real housing demand to narrow, and the proportion of investors to continue to dominate.

“Maybe in this lifetime I’ll never own a house. Perhaps I’ll need to cultivate good deeds for many more lives to afford one, if house prices are so high,” said a young journalist in Hanoi who has a stable job and above-average income.

Experts say that land prices approaching market prices are expected, but will directly affect people, businesses and the state budget.

From now to the end of 2025, several social housing projects in Hanoi are expected to be eligible for sale and will accept applications for purchase and rent-to-own, with prices of VND18-25 million per sq m.

In 2023, land auctions encountered difficulties and many localities had to stop auctions because of the lack of participants, while in 2024, many auctions were organized where unexpected events occurred.