Hanoi (VNA) - In recent years, property prices, particularly in the apartment segment, have shown no sign of slowing down, with each surge higher than the last. This relentless climb has made it nearly impossible for middle-income earners to afford a home, even after saving for decades.
Pham Thi Phuong Thao, an accountant from Hung Yen province working in Hanoi, recounted that she was offered a four-storey, 33-square-metre old house on Ngoc Thuy Street for 4.55 billion VND (129,900 USD) in early October. Within just a week, the price had jumped to 4.8 billion VND, and the property was quickly snapped up by another buyer.
With prices rising every week, owning a home in Hanoi is an unreachable dream unless you have strong financial backing, Thao said.
According to the Ministry of Construction’s report on property prices during the first nine months of this year, the average primary price (developer selling price) of apartments in Hanoi in the third quarter of 2025 ranged between 70 and 80 million VND per square metre, an increase of 5.6% from the first quarter and 33% year-on-year.
Leaders of the Ministry of Construction attributed the surge to a shortage of affordable housing options, as new developments target the mid- and high-end segments. Property prices are far exceeding the affordability of middle-income urban residents. Market manipulation, hoarding, and speculation have continued to distort supply and demand, a ministry official explained.
At a meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Housing and Real Estate Market in September, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed relevant ministries to tighten land management, pricing, and auctions, and to promptly address acts of manipulation and speculation to stabilise the property market.
The Ministry of Construction is currently seeking feedback from relevant ministries on a draft government resolution aimed at controlling and stabilising property prices, which is expected to be submitted for approval within October.
The draft proposes establishing a real estate transaction centre to ensure transparency in property dealings, alongside policies on homebuyer loans and the development of affordable commercial housing.
Nguyen Van Dinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS), said the proposed measures were necessary and would serve as essential tools to steer the market towards sustainable growth. He noted that requiring all transactions to go through a state-managed centre will help curb manipulation and speculation while providing a transparent and legally sound database of all property transactions, prices, and histories.
According to Tong Thi Hanh, Director of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department under the Ministry of Construction, the root of the problem lies in institutional shortcomings. Regulatory reform is the key to addressing all bottlenecks in the market, from supply and transactions to transparency, she emphasised.
The Ministry of Construction plans to draft amendments to the Housing Law and Real Estate Business Law by 2026. The revisions will focus on core issues such as transaction conditions, real estate service business activities, and market control mechanisms to ensure a fair-minded market.
The goal is to create a clear, legal framework capable of mobilising resources and fostering a healthy, transparent market, Hanh said./.
