Hanoi Selling an apartment in Ha Dong district for twice the price of when they bought it, but Mr. Quan and his wife cannot be happy because they cannot find another house and the old one continues to increase in price.
"I thought it was the peak at that time. If I didn't sell quickly, the price might drop and I would lose the chance to change houses," said Tran Trung Quan, a 38-year-old mechanic.
Two years ago, he and his wife bought this 69 m2 apartment for more than one billion VND. At the end of 2023, the price of apartments in the area doubled, many families sold, made a profit of billions of VND and bought a house on the ground or paid a little more to change to a new apartment. Mr. Quan leaned towards the second option, because he was tired of having to commute nearly 20 km every day.
"Seeing the price, I was also interested. Many people around were selling, and brokers kept calling me, so I was hesitant," he said.
After selling their house, Mr. Quan and his wife rushed to buy a new house, but the projects that met their criteria also increased in price. Meanwhile, more than a month later, the value of their old apartment increased by 100 million VND. By early March, a neighbor's house sold for 300 million VND more than his.
"From that day on, my wife kept complaining about losing an amount of money equivalent to several years of hard work," he said.
A 10-year-old apartment project in Co Nhue 1, Bac Tu Liem district. Photo: Phan Duong
The case of Mr. Vu Van Trung, 42 years old, selling an apartment in Mo Lao, Ha Dong district is even more regrettable. His 73 m2 apartment is on the middle floor, in a good location, so he sold it for 3.2 billion VND two weeks before the Lunar New Year.
"A month later, my old apartment increased in price by 400 million VND," said Mr. Trung. Several new projects opened for sale nearby, contributing to the sudden increase in prices in his area. "Apartment prices are skyrocketing, even as someone in the construction industry, I'm shocked," he said.
On some groups and forums of families planning to buy a house in Hanoi, many people shared funny situations because they took the opportunity to sell their apartments at increased prices. Someone said that in the middle of last year, when they saw the price of their house increase, they quickly sold it and switched to renting, waiting for the opportunity to buy a new one. Two months later, when they saw the price increase suddenly, this person quickly bought an identical apartment in the same old area for nearly 400 million VND more. Someone sold their apartment, bought a house in Hoai Duc, and now they are tired of having to drive more than two hours on the road every day, and their husband and wife are arguing. With the money they used to buy the house, now they no longer have the opportunity to buy an apartment near the center.
"My family sold their house in the middle of last year and moved to buy a larger apartment in a new project, paying 95% of the value, but now the project has temporarily stopped construction, the house is still rented, and monthly interest payments on a loan of nearly a billion VND are still required. The old house sold last year has increased by 20-30% this year," a forum member shared.
As a long-time apartment real estate specialist in Long Bien district, Mr. Nguyen Manh Quang, 34 years old, said that the prices of most apartments in the area have increased by 30-40% compared to the same period last year. Especially after Tet, the sharp increase in prices has made many people regretful. "I often receive regrets from homeowners for selling early," he said.
In early 2024, research on the real estate market by the American financial firm NetCredit showed that apartment prices in Hanoi's inner city had increased by 77% over the past year. The latest statistics from Savills also showed that apartments in Hanoi had set a new price threshold, increasing by 24% compared to the same period in 2022.
Short supply, new product basket mainly in high-end segment. The increasingly serious imbalance between supply and demand pushes apartment prices to continuously set new records. Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS) estimates that in 2024, primary apartment prices will continue to increase by an average of 3-8%.
"Apartment prices have been growing at an average double-digit rate every year. Last year alone, the Hanoi apartment price index increased by 16% compared to the beginning of the year," said Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of VARS.
Mr. Robert Linh, vice president of a real estate company in Hanoi, said that there is no right answer to the question of "when is the best time to sell an apartment". The homeowner's desired rate of return is how much, when that expectation is achieved, it is appropriate.
In investing, the "profit-taking" moment is always a double-edged sword. If you sell at a high price but then buy at a high price, it is not a profit. A smart investor must buy at a very low value after selling for a long-term investment. "Most people are investing in a 'double-down' style, for example, selling a house for 3 billion, making a profit of 1 billion, and then buying real estate for about 4 billion. If you calculate the cash flow, interest costs, plus inflation costs, it is not an effective investment," said Mr. Linh.
Mr. Linh advised that if you have a property that you are living in and want to sell it to buy somewhere else or use the money for something else, you can wait a while longer, especially after this period there will be a new price level. Those who have a real need to live should buy right now or at any time that suits them, because in general, apartment prices will always tend to increase.
"Families who want to sell their house to buy a new one at this time need to be alert and only sell their house when they have found a new project. Do not sell it to deposit in the bank because the current savings interest rate is low and cannot compete with the rising apartment prices," said Mr. Linh.
Investor Le Quoc Kien advises that those who are in need of changing their house can take advantage of the time when apartment prices increase to make a profit and buy another place, but if they are still satisfied with their current living environment, there is no need to rush to sell their house and then have to buy at a higher price. If you want to make a profit without changing your living environment, you must both advertise for sale and look for a new house to buy. "You should not sell your house first without looking at a new place," said Mr. Kien.
However, to do these two things in parallel, to arrange the cash flow of selling and buying back to match each other is not easy, requires a lot of knowledge and experience in the real estate field and is not for amateurs.
More than three months after selling the house, Mr. Quan’s family is using the profit from the sale to rent an apartment in Me Tri (Nam Tu Liem District), near his wife’s workplace and only 4 km away. Despite his wife’s nagging, he is still satisfied because he can work closer and increase the family’s assets.
"I was able to stay for more than two years without losing money, and even made a profit of billions of dong. I still consider myself lucky," he said.
Phan Duong
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