House prices in deep alleys in Hanoi have dropped sharply.

Alley houses in Hanoi have always been a "popular" segment for many years because of their reasonable prices. In particular, from 2021 to the end of 2022, this housing segment has continuously increased sharply, even in some places it is equal to the price of adjacent houses in the suburbs if calculated by square meter price.

However, after going through a period of "hot" growth, this segment has now shown signs of falling into a slump as more and more shortcomings are revealed, including fire safety issues. Currently, many homeowners have accepted to reduce the price by several hundred million VND per unit to quickly "push" the goods, avoiding heavy capital losses, but it is still difficult to find buyers.

Selling a house in an alley on Dinh Cong Street (Hoang Mai District, Hanoi), Mr. Le Van Minh said that he currently wants to sell his house urgently for 3.6 billion VND to have money to pay off debt, but finding a buyer at this time is not easy.

The house in the alley has been completed for over a year now, but Mr. Minh and his wife are willing to reduce the price by 300 - 400 million VND for buyers this month, along with basic furniture.

Many houses located in deep alleys are being heavily discounted. (Illustration: Cong Hieu).

" Some people called and came to see the house in person, but they weren't interested because the alley was quite deep and narrow. They were worried that if a fire broke out, the fire truck wouldn't be able to get in and the hose wouldn't be long enough to reach the house ," said Mr. Minh.

Similarly, Ms. Hoang Thi Mai (living in Thuong Dinh ward, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi) also posted an advertisement to sell a 4-storey house located deep in an alley at a loss for 2.3 billion VND.

Ms. Mai shared that her family is willing to reduce the price for anyone who is interested in buying a house this month. At the same time, her family will also transfer some valuable basic furniture such as beds, wardrobes, tables, chairs, kitchen equipment, etc.

“ I have been selling for months, many customers have called and come to see the house but no one has bought it. After the dangerous fires, especially the tragic mini apartment fire in Khuong Ha, customers are even more hesitant because they are worried that the alley is deep, small, and the high construction density makes the house stuffy and has little light,” said Ms. Mai.

Survey data of Batdongsan.com.vn on market prices in recent times shows that in Cau Giay district, individual houses with an area of about 50 - 60 m2, 5 - 6 floors high and fully furnished are being offered for sale at about 220 - 230 million VND/m2, about 15 - 20 million VND/m2 cheaper than 3 - 4 months ago.

Houses of the same area in Thanh Xuan district are for sale at 160 - 210 million VND/m2, depending on location.

Meanwhile, in Dong Da district, the price of a single-family house with an area of 40 square meters or less in an alley is about 100 million VND/square meter.

A house facing an alley that is accessible to cars and suitable for business or rental still costs over 20 billion VND for an area of 60 m2 (equivalent to over 400 million VND/m2).

This price is cheaper than the "fever" period before the COVID-19 epidemic.

The reason for this situation is recognized by investors and experts as being due to the high interest rates in recent times, the psychology of buyers is hesitant, continuing to wait for deeper price reductions, causing liquidity to decrease. Accordingly, although meeting the real needs of buyers, they still have to lower prices to find customers.

In particular, after the recent serious fire in Hanoi, customers are even more hesitant and hesitant about houses in deep alleys or small lanes because if a fire breaks out, it will be very difficult for fire trucks to access.

Many houses in the alley are offered for sale at deep discounts. (Screenshot).

According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Cau, owner of a real estate transaction office in Hanoi, compared to mid-2022, the price of houses in alleys has decreased by 10-15%. However, the price of this segment is still much higher than the affordability of people with real needs.

" Last year, house prices increased dramatically because many homeowners relied on the excuse of scarce supply but high demand, so they were "inflated" high, even exceeding the real value. However, after a year, many houses were put up for sale but there were no buyers. Accordingly, homeowners had to lower their expectations and selling prices ," Mr. Cau shared.

According to this broker, there are many houses in the alley that have been for sale for half a year but have not found buyers. The reason is that the current loan interest rate is still at a high level, causing many people to hesitate in making a decision.

" In fact, the demand for housing is still very high, but the economy is currently affected, so some people have postponed their plans to buy a house. Besides, there are families who are still waiting for prices to continue to drop further, " Mr. Cau added.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS), the real estate market has been "inflated" higher than reality for many years. In the first quarters of the year, the market is forecast to have few fluctuations, and the number of transactions will continue to decrease compared to the same period in 2022.

" Customers are ready to put money down with the mentality of waiting to buy the bottom, but whether the market has hit bottom or not is still a question that needs time to answer, because there is no measure to determine the bottom of the real estate market ," said Mr. Dinh.

Mr. Vu Cuong Quyet, General Director of Dat Xanh Mien Bac, said that everyone's mentality is just hoping the market will hit bottom, but no one knows where the bottom is. If the calculation is wrong, the opportunity may pass.

“ Like the period of 2012 - 2013, many people hoped that the crisis would bring down house prices further, but before they could buy, prices increased again. Therefore, customers, especially those buying houses to live in, should calculate and analyze their needs to make the right and timely decision ,” Mr. Quyet advised.

Chau Anh

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