Once a cheap apartment alternative
This type of housing used to receive a lot of attention due to its many advantages such as affordable prices and central location, but after many fires, mini apartments are no longer sought after by many people. Even old collective apartments, which were once sought after by many people with real housing needs, despite their prices being the same as suburban apartments, are no longer of much interest.
Mr. Pham Thanh Tung - a real estate broker in District 4 (HCMC) said that recently the number of customers asking to buy old apartment buildings and residential areas in this area has decreased. There are even some people who intend to sell at a loss to move to new commercial projects far from the center, even though they have just bought an apartment building.
Meanwhile, in the previous period, this type was a strength of Mr. Tung's company, with its own market and many interested customers. Most of the buyers had real housing needs and a few were investors buying to rent while waiting for planning and compensation.
“Most of the customers who buy collective houses are families with limited finances but want to live near the city center. Meanwhile, the sellers have often lived here for many years, have large families or are old and want to find a different living environment. Therefore, the purchase and sale agreement often happens very quickly…”, said Mr. Tung.
Old apartment buildings are still sought after by many people for many reasons.
Explaining the sharp decrease in interest, this broker said that perhaps after the recent incidents, people are concerned about the fire safety of mini apartments and collective apartments that cannot meet the requirements when an incident occurs. Meanwhile, the authorities are stepping up inspections and penalties for places that do not ensure fire safety, so many people, despite having researched, do not want to buy at this time.
However, the current demand for low-cost, affordable housing is still very high, so types of housing such as mini apartments or old collective housing will still be of interest after a while, when things have calmed down.
A recent survey by Batdongsan.com.vn with real estate experts and consumers also noted the view that the "silence" of mini apartments may be temporary, after the impact of the fire. In the long term, in large cities, the need for housing is always urgent. If social housing (NOXH) and low-cost housing are not cleared, mini apartments will still be the choice of low-income people in large cities such as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
Increase social housing supply soon to solve the problem
When asked about the market of mini apartments and old collective houses, Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, said that the severe shortage of affordable housing makes quality apartments a distant dream for many people. At that time, mini apartments are a suitable choice to simultaneously satisfy the need for housing when the location is central and the price is cheap. The control of construction and operation of mini apartments must be carried out strictly and regularly, fully meeting the requirements of fire prevention and fighting safety.
Mr. Dinh believes that there should be more stringent regulations on investment and construction of mini apartments. Authorities should absolutely avoid approving mini apartments located deep in alleys and difficult to access. Like other housing projects, mini apartments also need to have minimum regulations on surrounding infrastructure.
Increasing the supply of social housing is the best way to limit the emergence of substandard housing types.
In addition, the control of construction and operation of mini apartments must be carried out strictly and regularly, fully meeting the requirements of fire prevention and fighting safety... Buyers also need to carefully consider legal documents such as construction permits, whether the mini apartment has been approved for fire prevention and fighting safety by the police agency and licensed or not.
However, to solve the core problem, this expert believes that the real estate market's lack of affordable housing must still be solved, especially in large urban areas such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where supply is much lower than demand.
Mr. Dinh commented that if the market has enough social housing projects and low-cost commercial housing that are suitable for the financial capacity of the majority of people, then mini apartment buildings that do not meet standards will have little chance of being consumed. Looking more broadly, solving the housing problem for the majority of people is the key issue. Unblocking the supply of social housing and affordable commercial housing is the key to thoroughly solving the problems.
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