Social housing prices in Hanoi have shown signs of unusual increases, prompting Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh to request that the Hanoi People’s Committee conduct inspections and audits to determine the cause and ensure that sale prices comply with regulations.

Currently, Hanoi has six social housing projects under construction, comprising more than 4,400 apartments. Two additional projects have been assigned to investors by the city, with a planned total of over 2,100 units.

The city is also reviewing 29 new project proposals, covering about 70 hectares and potentially adding more than 28,000 SH units.

According to Ha Quang Hung, Deputy Director of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department (Ministry of Construction), some projects by corporations like Viglacera and HUD are progressing on schedule and nearing the topping-out stage.

However, several projects are lagging, notably one led by the joint venture between Bic Vietnam and Him Lam Thu Do, which is unlikely to be completed by the end of 2025.

During a working session with the Hanoi People’s Committee on October 8 to assess social housing progress, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Sinh acknowledged the city's proactive efforts in implementing social housing plans. Nevertheless, he stressed the need for stronger monitoring and enforcement.

"It’s not enough to merely initiate construction or approve investment policies. The city must push for projects to be topped out, completed, and made eligible for sale as soon as possible. More importantly, the housing delivered must be real, valuable, and serve those with genuine housing needs," Sinh emphasized.

The Ministry of Construction also voiced concern that social housing prices in Hanoi have reached record highs, contrary to the goal of supporting low-income earners.

"High prices may stem from weak investor capacity, prolonged timelines driving up costs, or even policy manipulation to inflate prices. We must tighten oversight to prevent genuine homebuyers from being priced out," Sinh warned.

The ministry proposed that Hanoi quickly establish a task force to conduct on-site inspections of social housing projects and maintain regular coordination with the Ministry and Department of Construction to resolve bottlenecks and ensure timely project completion by 2025.

According to Hanoi’s Department of Construction, the city has so far completed one project with around 1,340 units. Five additional projects have met conditions to be launched on the market, offering 4,635 units.

Between 2021 and 2025, Hanoi aims to supply about 17,300 social housing units from 16 projects - meeting 94% of its planned target.

Since late 2024, several social housing projects in Hanoi have broken ground, but prices have shown a strong upward trend.

The highest current rate is at the Thuong Thanh Social Housing Complex (commercial name: Rice City Long Chau), priced at 29.4 million VND/m² (approximately USD 1,200/m²), inclusive of VAT but excluding maintenance fees. From October 1, apartments at this site became available for online registration to buy or lease. Buyers will need to spend between 940 million to 2 billion VND (about USD 38,400 to USD 81,700), depending on the unit size.

The previous price record belonged to the Ha Dinh social housing project in Tan Trieu Commune, former Thanh Tri District, with a provisional rate of 25 million VND/m² (about USD 1,040/m²).

In March 2023, the NHS Trung Van social housing project in Trung Van Ward, former Nam Tu Liem District, recorded the then-highest selling price of 19.5 million VND/m² (around USD 810/m²), including VAT.

Before 2023, social housing prices in the capital typically ranged between 13 to 17 million VND/m² (roughly USD 540 to USD 700/m²).

Hong Khanh