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Mini-apartments recognized in Vietnam, now in high demand
After mini-apartments gained legal recognition, the price for these apartments have skyrocketed.
Six people entered the small alley at No 1008 Lang Road in Hanoi. All of the six guests said they wanted to purchase mini-apartments. Long, a local resident, was very friendly. She led the guests to the 30 square meter apartment on the fourth floor that was offered on sale for one billion dong.
However, the owner of the apartment was absent. Long then decided to show the guest her apartment, saying that all of the 18 apartments in the six-storey building have the same design. Every apartment has an area of 30 square meters and includes a guestroom, toilet, and a bedroom large enough for one bed.
More than ten people have come to ask about the apartment so far. You should pay 100 million dong in advance as a deposit and make a quick decision, or you will lose the opportunity to buy the apartment,” Long advised her guests.
Local residents call the six-storey building with 18 apartments in the alley the “mini-hotel.” Long also said she has been very satisfied with her apartment.
According to VnExpress, a local newspaper, clients who buy mini apartments are mostly immigrants, newly married couples, or students who stay in Hanoi while studying at universities. In the past, mini-apartments were not recognized because they were too small. However, since the apartments gained legal recognition, the price for these apartments have been soaring. A 30 square meter apartment, which was priced at 600-800 million dong in 2009, is now selling at 1-1.3 billion dong. Most of the owners of the apartments that advertise the sale of mini-apartments in newspapers, say they have legal documents proving their ownership of the apartments.
Mini-apartments are mostly located in crowded residential quarters such as Nguyen Khang, Nguyen Phong Sac, Dich Vong in Cau Giay District, and Khung Trung and Khuong Dinh in Thanh Xuan District. The apartment blocs’ developers are mostly privately run companies or small and medium-sized companies. Each of the mini-apartments has an area of 30-35 square meters, and apartment blocks are regularly located in small alleys.
Though prices have been increasing, mini-apartments have still been selling very well. Even in Cau Giay district, which once witnessed the mushrooming of mini-apartments, there are few apartments available to purchase.
Tran Oanh, a marketing officer of a company in Hanoi, related that he has been living in Hanoi for seven years. He heard about mini-apartment in 2008, but he did not dare to purchase one at that time, because the legality of this kind of apartment was not recognized. Now, after the Ministry of Construction recognized mini-apartments, these apartments have become so scarce that he has been unable to find any apartment to purchase over the last two weeks. “I once wanted to buy an apartment on Quan Nhan street, but another buyer was more quicker and bought the apartment,” he said.
Tran Thi Ha seems to be luckier than Oanh, because she could buy an apartment, with an area of 35 square meters at 1.2 billion dong in Thanh Xuan district, after only one month of searching. The apartment is located in a small alley, but Ha said this is still a good choice for her, and many other medium income earners.
“I bought the apartment with money I saved for the last 10 years and some money I borrowed from my parents. Though the apartment is small, its price is “soft,” just equal to a half of the price of a normal apartment. Therefore, these apartments have been selling very well,” Ha said.
Nguyen Gia Khoa, a real estate expert, also said that since Decree 71 was promulgated, which put mini-apartments under the state’s management, and local authorities started granting legal documents to owners of mini-apartments, the mini-apartment market has begun to thrive.
“The decree will help develop the market for mini-apartments. I strongly believe that mini-apartments will attract clients thanks to their low prices,” he said.
Speaking at a forum recently, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said previously, his ministry could not imagine that such small apartments could exist. However, in reality, the apartments do exist and people have been flocking to purchase them. Nam said he himself once visited a mini-apartment bloc with 14 families and found that the families lived well in the apartments.
vietnamnet, VnExpress
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