Home renovation for Tet is 'in high demand'

The trend of limiting fashion shopping, investing in new designs and decorating the house for Tet is chosen by many, especially young families.

The need to change the "clothes" for houses to welcome Tet this year has increased compared to 2023, many construction units have increased projects by 20-30% compared to the previous time - Photo: THAO THUONG

People used to spend tens or hundreds of millions on luxury items during Tet, but after a difficult year, this need was replaced by more practical "investments".

According to statistics from the Ministry of Construction, the value of the home repair market in Vietnam is estimated to reach VND135,000 billion in 2023 and increase to nearly VND150,000 billion in 2024, equivalent to a growth rate of 12.5%. Home improvement is expected to witness strong growth in 2025. Many units and individuals shared that the demand for home repair has increased due to the "following" the gradually brighter real estate market.

Bustling home renovation services for Tet

December is the peak month for home repair services to welcome Tet. Unlike 2023, from December 2024 to about half of January 2025, this service market will be more bustling, despite witnessing a "sad economic" year.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (Horizon apartment, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) said that since the beginning of November 2024, she has been looking for a construction unit to waterproof, paint the walls and redesign the living room to welcome Tet, even though since buying this "luxury" apartment, she has no intention of repairing it.

"Instead, during Tet, I prefer to shop, buy branded items to dress up for Tet. But now that so many things are changing, I see that material things, real estate, gold... have lasting value. Luxury items are temporary. I'm renovating my house for Tet and hope that in 2025, when real estate is "fresh", I will have a new plan," said Ms. Hong. The cost for Ms. Hong to hire a service to "change the look" of her apartment was nearly 150 million VND, with a construction time of 10 days.

As a "fan" of designer handbags with a house on Le Thanh Ton Street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), Ms. LAH (45 years old) said she had just sold all her luxury items to get back the money to repair two apartments in Thu Duc City and a house in District 1 during Tet.

"This year, my children are coming home from abroad to celebrate Tet. My perspective has also changed. I limit my shopping, it's only once a year, so I need to redecorate my house," said Ms. LAH.

Market records show that construction service companies publicly announce construction prices online and receive a lot of attention. The price for building a house in the shell is 3.3 - 3.6 million VND/ ^m2 , but renovating a house for Tet has separate labor costs for each item.

For example, house demolition, wall demolition 40,000 VND/ ^m2 ; digging foundation 45,000 VND/ ^m2 ; replacing corrugated iron roof 45,000 VND/ ^m2 ; flooring construction: floor tiling 65,000 VND/ ^m2 , wall tiling 65,000 VND/ ^m2 , wall skirting 12,000 - 15,000 VND/ ^m2 .

Or such as painting, waterproofing; marble construction, plaster ceiling construction, construction of all kinds of doors, stairs... with a variety of different labor levels, depending on materials and work volume...

Lots of work, worry about lack of workers

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Toi (construction company in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City), since October 2024, he has received many repair and decoration contracts worth about 30 - 300 million VND/project.

"Compared to new construction, we prefer to take on home decoration and repair because "cash on delivery", we earn money wherever we work, and the cost is not buried. There is only one problem, during Tet there is often a shortage of workers, but this year the contracts have increased but on the contrary, there is a serious shortage of workers because most of them have returned to their hometowns in the "wave" of workers leaving Ho Chi Minh City in 2024", said Mr. Toi.

Mr. Nguyen Nam (owner of a construction and interior design company in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) said that this year, the company's projects to renovate and repair houses for Tet increased by 30%. Many old customers returned to find the company for advice, some to demolish old houses to build new ones, some to repair houses for Tet.

"We have customer care and product maintenance services. Last year, customers all shook their heads because the cash flow "stood" due to unfavorable land business. But this year, customers are very willing to spend money, homeowners are willing to spend money to renovate the house, paint color, tiles, kitchen... Some people, especially young families, want the entire structure and interior of the house to "transform" into a new product to welcome Tet," Mr. Nam informed.

According to Architect Nguyen Thai Thuat Hien, Director of LSS Landscape Solution Service Company, to save costs, you should not wait until close to Tet to do any renovations. Renovations such as painting, repainting or repairing minor damage to the house... should be done 1-2 months before Tet.

Because the short time will directly affect the quality and aesthetics of the house. If you need to replace or repair a lot with a cost of hundreds of millions of dong, you should consult a construction engineer first and budget more time to be able to decorate according to your family's wishes.

"Just a few small changes, plus creative ideas, can make an old house look new. There are many instructional videos online suggesting ways to renovate your house for Tet. People can look them up to get good ideas and save money," Mr. Hien emphasized.

Freelancers are also in demand.

Not taking on big projects or working for companies, Mr. Nguyen Van The (Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City) is a "handyman", especially in the construction field. Near Tet, Mr. The has many customers in Dong Nai, Binh Duong... making appointments to do electricity, water, patch plaster ceilings or small details...

"I have my own Facebook page, introduce my work and often post before and after photos of my work. Many people follow and know me. Working for this person, introducing that person and so on. Tet is the time when I can't "breathe" because I run everywhere.

In return, the daily income is quite good. Going to the province or far away like Hoc Mon, Cu Chi district; labor costs plus gas and car expenses. Every day I earn 2-3 million VND. There were years when the work was not finished until the 30th of Tet, so this year there were many customers but my plan is only until the 26th of Tet," said Mr. The.

House cleaning service "makes a lot of money"

In addition to repair or "demolition and rebuilding" services, house cleaning near Tet is also a niche service that is making a lot of money for many businesses. This demand does not only arise near Tet but is almost constant throughout the year.

"Year-end house cleaning is calculated by hour or area. If it is now, it is 150,000 VND/hour or about 250,000 - 300,000 VND/ ^m2 depending on the area. If it is from the 23rd of Tet onwards, this price will increase by 20-30%. But orders before this date will have a softer service price. The reason is that these days the workers are students studying part-time... and have not returned home for Tet. Near the date, there are no workers so the cost increases," said Mr. Phan Minh Hoa (owner of a house cleaning service in Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh City).

Meanwhile, a representative of bTaskee Company Limited (a company specializing in providing convenient services such as: house cleaning, air conditioner cleaning, grocery shopping...) said that this year's Tet season, the company's orders increased by 40% compared to normal days, and increased compared to last year.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tan-trang-nha-cua-don-tet-dat-so-20250108231135522.htm