The mismatch between sellers’ price expectations and what buyers can afford has contributed to weaker market liquidity.

Lower resale prices do not necessarily mean investors are selling at a loss, Hang said. Property prices had previously climbed so high that, in some cases, sellers were simply accepting smaller profits than they had hoped for.

Housing demand remains strong, she added, but the supply of homes that meet buyers’ needs in terms of location, quality and affordability is limited. Buyers may still be willing to commit when they find a suitable property.

“Property price adjustments depend first and foremost on decisions by businesses and developers themselves,” Hang said.

Reviewing market developments, Nguyen Van Dinh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association and chairman of the Vietnam Association of Realtors, said property markets in several major cities had begun to show signs of a correction in 2026 after a period of sharp price increases.

Hanoi apartment prices surged from 2024 and peaked in late 2025. In the first half of 2026, they fell by around 7% from the start of the year, bringing the average selling price in the second quarter to approximately $4,750 per square metre. Even so, prices remained far above their early-2023 levels.

Ho Chi Minh City, meanwhile, maintained slower but steadier growth. Apartment prices rose by around 3% in the first half of 2026 compared with the end of 2025, averaging approximately $4,170 per square metre in the second quarter, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter.

Dinh said property transactions had recovered strongly in 2025, exceeding 100,000. In the first six months of 2026, however, the market recorded only around 48,000 transactions involving properties sold directly by developers.

A VARS IRE report put first-half primary-market transactions at around 48,000, with an absorption rate of 49%, down from 62% in the same period of 2025. Notably, the second-quarter absorption rate fell to 41%, compared with 47% in the first quarter.

Should homebuyers wait for further price cuts?

Offering a business perspective, Pham Duc Toan, general director of EZ Vietnam Real Estate Investment and Development JSC, said his company’s transaction volume had fallen by around 90% since the beginning of the year, describing the market as virtually frozen.

The remaining transactions were concentrated mainly in social housing and resale properties at completed developments with established residential communities, Toan said. Some properties were attracting buyers as owners began making deeper price cuts.

The difficulties extend beyond Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to neighbouring provinces and cities. Toan cited a project in the former Hong Bang district of Hai Phong where prices were around $770 per square metre, yet virtually no transactions had taken place since the start of 2026.

To keep operating, many businesses have offered discounts and price reductions through customer appreciation programmes, interest subsidies or grace periods of six to 12 months on interest payments. According to Toan, however, these measures generate only a small number of transactions before activity subsides again.

He said the key issue in the current market was not simply whether prices were high or low, but whether properties could find buyers. As cash-flow pressures mount, businesses may have to accept more realistic prices to revive sales.

Buyer sentiment poses another obstacle. Sellers are now willing to lower prices, but buyers are holding out for further reductions. With both sides waiting to see what the other will do, transactions have yet to regain momentum.

Hang said property prices had remained elevated for a long time despite strong housing demand. The market was now, however, showing signs of downward price adjustments.

For people buying a home to live in, she advised against waiting for the market to bottom out, as identifying the precise low point is extremely difficult. Instead, buyers should assess the asking price against the property’s value, market movements over recent years and their own financial circumstances.

Hang gave the example of a 70-square-metre apartment that once cost around $116,000 but had risen to approximately $270,500 after several years. Buyers should consider that increase in relation to broader market developments, the property’s value and their financial means before making a decision, she said.

“If the price is reasonable and the home meets their actual needs, buyers should consider making the purchase,” Hang said.

For those buying property as an investment rather than to meet their own housing needs, continuing to monitor the market and assess the risks before committing funds is an option worth considering.

No one can accurately predict how far property prices will fall or when the market will reach its bottom, the ministry representative said. Buyers should therefore assess their own needs, financial resources and acceptable price range rather than rely entirely on forecasts.

Hong Khanh