Since news broke that the 38 kilometer Hanoi – Hoa Lac urban railway connecting Van Cao and Hoa Lac will start construction by year-end, the real estate market near the stations, especially the end station in Yen Bai commune (Ba Vi) and Tien Xuan (Thach That), has suddenly become a hotspot, eagerly sought after by property investors.

The Dong Doi resettlement area (Yen Bai commune) and Bai Dai (Tien Xuan) led the price surge within just weeks.

In Dong Doi, land prices have jumped from VND22-25 million per sq m to VND32-35 million per sq m in just one month.

In Bai Dai, near the end station, prices now range from VND30-35 million per sqm, up 30 percent from mid-March. These figures signal an unprecedented speculative storm which is to land in an area once considered less attractive as it was far from the center.

Nguyen Van Phu, an experienced broker in Tien Xuan, said: “I’ve never seen such a bustling market here. Since mid-March, investors have been flocking daily to survey and buy land. Many just glance at so do, or red book (land use right certificates) and consider land location before placing deposits,” he said. 

“An investor bought a land plot on Monday and resold it on Friday with the price margin of VND300 million,” he said.

According to Phu, “surfing on investment”, i.e buying and selling quickly for profit, is the main driver of the price surge.

“Some clients I know made hundreds of millions in profit within days. That’s why people are flocking here like it’s a gold rush. But such rapid increases aren’t sustainable,” he said.

Another broker, Le Thanh Hoa in Dong Doi, noted that the prices are rising so fast that not only investors but landowners also change their minds all the time.

“Many landowners break deals though they have received deposits because they hear the prices have increased further,” she explained.

However, not everyone succeeds with investment surfing. Nguyen Hai Dang, another broker, commented that the price rises are slowing down.

“The prices have hit abnormally high. The land prices once soared by VND10 million per sq m just within one month. But there are no buyers today,” he said. “The price of VND35 million per sq m in Tien Xuan is overly high compared with local infrastructure conditions.”

Tran Tuan Vu, an investor from Cau Giay district in Hanoi, said he accepted losing the deposit he paid for a land plot in Bai Dai area after realizing the land prices had become too high and the price increases were slowing down.

Ngoc Cuong