Premium apartment projects in the west of Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy
Foreigners purchased over 2,800 apartments in Hanoi in 2024, twice the number they bought in the entire five years from 2018 to 2022, the Vietnam Association of Realtors said.
In the five-years period 1,765 apartments had been bought by foreigners, the association said in a recent report.
“This [more foreigners buying homes] is a positive sign for the real estate market as it helps sell a large number of unsold high-end and luxury properties,” the association said, adding it expects sales to continue growing. In any apartment project, foreigners can buy 30% of the units.
The number of foreign workers coming to northern Vietnam for employment, particularly in senior positions such as executives, specialists, and technical workers, is increasing. Many of them seek to buy housing in Hanoi, the association said.
Property consultancy CBRE Vietnam noted in a report last year that since 2015, when the government began removing barriers to foreigners’ acquisition of real estate, 75% of the apartments sold to foreigners were bought by people from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea.
It said most foreigners buying real estate in Vietnam are doing so with an eye on price appreciation, and few rent out their properties.
“Not many foreigners, other than those who plan to live in Vietnam in the long term, purchase homes for personal use,” CBRE added.
