The report by property consultancy CBRE analyzed the disparity between housing prices and per capita income in major Asian cities.
Hanoi’s average apartment price is US$2,600 per square meter, while the average annual income is $6,300, resulting in an income-to-housing price ratio of 2.4.
HCMC’s average apartment price is $2,800 per square, with an average annual income of $7,500, yielding a ratio of 2.7.
A higher ratio indicates greater affordability, while a lower ratio suggests the opposite.
The two major cities in Vietnam rank only higher than Hong Kong, with a ratio of 1.7, and Seoul and Manila which have a ratio of 2.3.
“This shows that buying a home in Hanoi and HCMC is even more difficult than in Singapore,” CBRE said.
While Vietnam’s housing price is similar to that of other countries in Asia, average income is much lower, which explains the smaller ratios.
Kuala Lumpur’s average income, for example, quadruples that of Hanoi.
Other studies have pointed out the same challenge of purchasing housing in Vietnam.
A report by property listing platform Batdongsan ranks Hanoi and HCMC among the least affordable housing markets in Southeast Asia.
A Hanoi resident would need 50 years of income to buy a house and 23 years to afford an apartment, it estimates.
The figures are 53 years and 24 years for a HCMC resident.
By comparison, the International Monetary Fund considers housing affordable when it does not exceed 30 years of household income.
“In most developed countries, young professionals typically need 10 to 15 years to buy a home. But in Vietnam, it takes 23 to 25 years – nearly an entire working career,” according to Batdongsan.
Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS) estimates that with current prices ranging from VND40–70 million (US$1,594-2,791) per square meter, a 60-square-meter apartment in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City costs between VND2.5–3.5 billion.
Even among the top 20% of income earners in Vietnam (earning VND13–20 million per month), purchasing a home remains a significant challenge. For lower-income groups, homeownership is nearly impossible.
A recent Ministry of Construction report revealed that in 2024, apartment prices increased by 40–50% in Hanoi and 20–30% in Ho Chi Minh City compared to 2023, with some projects seeing even stronger price hikes.
A survey by the HCMC Institute for Development Studies found that most city residents can only afford to cover half the cost of the property they want to own.
VARS chairman Nguyen Van Dinh said that even if current housing prices were cut in half, many middle- and low-income earners would still struggle to buy homes.
Since 2018, government policies on capital and real estate regulations have severely restricted the housing supply.
Meanwhile, demand for homes continues to rise, pushing housing prices in Hanoi and HCMC far beyond income growth rates.
Dinh predicts that urban housing prices will remain high due to limited land availability, rising development costs, and soaring land and project-related expenses.
As a result, commercial housing will remain out of reach for many, he added.
Duong Thuy Dung, managing director of CBRE Vietnam, estimated that in 2024, 40,000 new apartments will be launched in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, 90% of which will be in the high-end or luxury segments, priced above VND60 million per square meter.
“Currently, there are no market conditions that would drive housing prices down in the short term.”
She added that many factors could continue pushing prices higher, including new land pricing frameworks, rising land costs, labor expenses, and construction and logistics fees.
Analysts have said that, in the long run, investing in infrastructure and encouraging population shifts to suburban areas could help curb price increases.
