HCMC apartment prices drop further as investors seek to cut losses

A man who identified himself as only Lu said he has doubled the discount on an apartment he is trying to sell from VND300 million in the third quarter.

“I have failed to sell the apartment worth VND3 billion over the past year. Now I am willing to accept a loss of VND600 million.”

He noted that the interest rate on a bank loan he took increased recently from 9% to over 13%.

Meanwhile, prices of land for townhouses in Thu Duc City have dropped by around 27% since mid-2022. A square meter of land cost VND135 million in early December as against VND185 million earlier.

The prices of apartments and land are also plummeting in Districts 7 Binh Chanh, Nha Be, Can Gio and others.

But it takes a lot of time for transactions to be concluded because buyers pressurize cash-strapped sellers to further reduce prices, according to a real estate broker named Chien.

“Ninety percent of buyers do not make decisions quickly. They assume that in 2023 the market will face even more difficulties.”

Nguyen Loc Hanh, CEO of Asia Gem Real Estate Investment Joint Stock Company, told VnExpress that the secondary market is seeing low liquidity, and investors, many of whom used leverage, are offering much bigger discounts than in the second or third quarters.

Borrowers find it hard to get new loans, face higher interest rates, or see their debts due by the end of this year, he said.

The real estate market is expected to worsen next year, with land and housing prices further decreasing in early 2023, maybe by 30-40% from 2021, he added.