Changing home buyer tastes push developers toward affordable segment

Apartment building in Thủ Đức City, HCM City. Home buyers are younger on average now and have a preference for small-sized apartments. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HÀ NỘI — There is a visible change in the taste of home seekers which is pushing developers to switch focus to more affordable segment housing.

A recent report by Finance – Economics – Real Estate Institute of Đat Xanh Services showed greater attention is placed on the amount of money they have to pay to own an apartment.

About 78 per cent of buyers pay attention to the total price of the apartments, while only 22 per cent care about the price per sq.m, a full reversal from the previous period.

Realtor Thu Hương said that previously the market preference was for 3-bedroom apartments of around 100sq.m. Now, apartments of one or two bedrooms are more common.

The increasing price per sq.m makes buyers interested in small apartments because the total sum they have to spend will be affordable.

Experts predict that small apartments may become a trend in the next five years in a difficult economic context.

In fact, projects with small apartments of around 45sq.m and prices of less than VNĐ2 billion in the outskirts often have higher liquidity.

Trần Xuân Lương from the National Economics University said small apartments can meet the demand of young buyers or nuclear families. Besides, leasing this type of apartment is easy.

A survey by Property Guru which owns batdongsan.com.vn found that home buyers today are younger.

Young people aged 26-42 dominate the real estate assets market in 2023.

Specifically, the group of home seekers aged 27-30 increased from 39 per cent in 2021 to 42 per cent in 2023. Aged 32-40 accounted for 24 per cent while aged 42 or higher saw a drop from 22.3 per cent in 2021 to 15.3 per cent in 2023.

Specially, Gen Z home seekers aged 22-26 increased from 13 per cent in 2023 to 18.7 per cent last year.

Lê Bảo Long, strategy director of batdongsan.com.vn, said that unlike middle-aged people, young home seekers prioritise flexibility in accommodation to have better experiences. They are not afraid to travel long distances to work every day, or even change living and working environments regularly.

This group of buyers prefer projects with high living standards and modern amenities, he said.

Giang Huỳnh, deputy director of market research department of Savills HCM City, said that young buyers often eye apartments with areas from 50-70sq.m in the outskirt areas.

According to the International Monetary Fund, in 2025-27, Việt Nam’s GDP per capita is forecast to reach US$5,000 in 2024. The major workforce ages around 22-35.

Ngô Đình Đức from Việt Nam Institute of Directors said that the young generation is quickly taking advantage of the development of technology and innovation to increase incomes compared to the previous generations. Thus, the ability of the young to afford a home is increasing.

Increase supply

It can be seen that reducing housing price is an important solution to solve liquidity problems and improve cash flow.

However, the input costs of housing projects keep increasing, plus the prolonged implementation, making it difficult to lower prices.

Lê Đình Chung, general director of SGO Homes, said that while lowering housing prices is difficult, developing small-sized apartments might be reasonable.

Nguyễn Văn Đính, President of the Việt Nam Association of Realtors, said that besides rising input costs, the shortage of supply is also a cause of skyrocketing housing prices.

He said that the Government asked the Ministry of Construction to instruct developers to restructure their products and lower costs, and raise appropriate and prompt measures to promote the development of affordable homes, social housing projects and housing projects for workers and low-income earners.

This demonstrates the determination of the Government in removing difficulties for the real estate market and promote its safe, healthy and sustainable development, Đính said.

Restructuring housing projects and lowering prices are difficult problems which require coordination from all stakes, including the Government, management agencies, local authorities to banks, developers and home buyers.

First, it is necessary to simplify administrative procedures to speed up the implementation of housing projects, together with appropriate mechanisms for site clearance, he said.

Economist Cấn Văn Lực said that developers need to be determined in restructuring their products, lowering prices and diversifying funding sources to reduce risks and increase liquidity. — VNS