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Speculators drive up price of retail space
Seeking more space to display and store goods, several dealers at large markets in HCM City have been trying to buy houses on streets and alleys near the markets, sending property values soaring and the ultimate fate of traditional markets in question.
Market stalls, which are sometimes inconveniently small, have gradually come to be considered more a place for meeting clients and full-size shops better places to show samples and do deals, according to merchants.
Many vendors said they would stop trading at market stalls altogether once their clients became used to shopping in stores nearby.
"Most dealers at the market have trade with foreign partners, so opening shops on streets near the market will facilitate their business," said the owner of a garment products stall at District 5’s An Dong Market as well as two nearby shops.
The prices of houses close to large markets have skyrocketed in recent years thanks to merchants’ hunger for real estate.
In the alleys and streets around An Dong Market, house prices have gone up by more than twofold compared to the 2005-06 period, to around 500 tael of gold per unit.
At Tan Binh Market, vendors report a similar increase.
"Last year, I spent 270 taels of gold to buy a house measuring 3.5m in width located on a small alley behind the market," said a Tan Binh clothes wholesaler. "This year, I want to buy the next house with similar area to widen my shop, however, the owner wants 400 taels of gold," she said.
She offered 350 taels of gold for the property but the owner didn’t accept it .
vietnamnews
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