Real Estate Prices in Vietnam

My exact same thoughts.

Real estate is overpriced in VN as you noted with the average income. There is a block of land near my hem it's around 200 sqmts and its selling for 350k usd. It's not on a main road, it's not a commercial block, just a house block. It's not even in Saigon or Ha Noi, but located in an outer ward of Vung Tau. Prices are just outrageous, I feel sorry for the average Vietnamese trying to buy.

Supply and demand?  I am with you OP.   Remind me of oil price.

Land is expensive in Vietnam because there's not a lot of it. Vietnam is smaller than California in size and has a population of 95 million people (almost a 1/3 of US population). Also there are no annual property taxes in Vietnam compared to the US where most cities charge around 1% of the property value. In essence, ownership in US property is more costly to maintain overtime.

CoderX10 wrote:

Land is expensive in Vietnam because there's not a lot of it. Vietnam is smaller than California in size and has a population of 95 million people (almost a 1/3 of US population). Also there are no annual property taxes in Vietnam compared to the US where most cities charge around 1% of the property value. In essence, ownership in US property is more costly to maintain overtime.

Population and land mass in Thailand is very similar to Vietnam and also no property taxes and the RE values there are less than 1/4 of Vietnam. There has to be something else here at play.

Strictly supply and demand.  If people weren't buying it the price would drop.  But they are buying it.  I do think that since much of the land was purchased with cash there are no carrying costs so it lets them sit on it until they get what they want.  Sure in the last 5 years or so there has been property purchased with loans but as a percentage I think most land is paid for.  Finally, with the exception of the 2011 bubble and more recently COVID there has been steady appreciation of value.  They will "wait it out" to get what they want.

As a foriegner you also have very limited options of what you can buy, unless you are married to a citizen.  I don't recall if you are.

In my opinion one shouldn’t compare the west versus VN using traditional metrics.  It’s like valuing IBM versus beyond meat whereby the latter is valued based on future growth.

Expenses and culture of living with 3 generations under one roof are also contributing factors.  Plus real estate has been the only game in town for the average less sophisticated citizens.  Having said that I concur that property prices in VN are overvalued, may be not to the extent we envisioned.

MikeTVN wrote:

CoderX10 wrote:

Land is expensive in Vietnam because there's not a lot of it. Vietnam is smaller than California in size and has a population of 95 million people (almost a 1/3 of US population). Also there are no annual property taxes in Vietnam compared to the US where most cities charge around 1% of the property value. In essence, ownership in US property is more costly to maintain overtime.

Population and land mass in Thailand is very similar to Vietnam and also no property taxes and the RE values there are less than 1/4 of Vietnam. There has to be something else here at play.

That is an inaccurate statement. Thailand has a population of 65 million compared to Vietnam 95 million. Thailand also has 50% more land than Vietnam.

Vietnam has made considerable strides but it is not comparable to Thailand as Thailand is a South East Asian powerhouse for its massive tourism market prior to Covid and strong GDP. Property prices are a lot higher in Thailand.

https://www.numbeo.com/property-investm … 2=Thailand

SteinNebraska wrote:

Strictly supply and demand.  If people weren't buying it the price would drop.  But they are buying it.  I do think that since much of the land was purchased with cash there are no carrying costs so it lets them sit on it until they get what they want.  Sure in the last 5 years or so there has been property purchased with loans but as a percentage I think most land is paid for.  Finally, with the exception of the 2011 bubble and more recently COVID there has been steady appreciation of value.  They will "wait it out" to get what they want.

As a foriegner you also have very limited options of what you can buy, unless you are married to a citizen.  I don't recall if you are.

Agreed with Stein here. There is a lot of equity in Vietnam's real estate market and very little debt. Real estate is also a preferred vehicle to hide or launder illicit funds. Gold and diamond are close second. The government doesn't have a system in place to track where the funds of real estate transaction are coming from. Unlike the US, all real estate sales are conducted through federally regulated baking system.

SteinNebraska wrote:

Strictly supply and demand.  If people weren't buying it the price would drop.  But they are buying it.  I do think that since much of the land was purchased with cash there are no carrying costs so it lets them sit on it until they get what they want.  Sure in the last 5 years or so there has been property purchased with loans but as a percentage I think most land is paid for.  Finally, with the exception of the 2011 bubble and more recently COVID there has been steady appreciation of value.  They will "wait it out" to get what they want.

As a foriegner you also have very limited options of what you can buy, unless you are married to a citizen.  I don't recall if you are.

I will be married when I get there or she comes to the US which ever happens first. We (she) do own a home now in VN. Perhaps the income to home value is off because many citizens work abroad and bring the money back in to buy RE and that way it would not reflect in the average income.

Yoda0807 wrote:

In my opinion one shouldn’t compare the west versus VN using traditional metrics.  It’s like valuing IBM versus beyond meat whereby the latter is valued based on future growth.

Expenses and culture of living with 3 generations under one roof are also contributing factors.  Plus real estate has been the only game in town for the average less sophisticated citizens.  Having said that I concur that property prices in VN are overvalued, may be not to the extent we envisioned.

Ah good one. "3 generations under one roof "

CoderX10 wrote:

MikeTVN wrote:

CoderX10 wrote:

Land is expensive in Vietnam because there's not a lot of it. Vietnam is smaller than California in size and has a population of 95 million people (almost a 1/3 of US population). Also there are no annual property taxes in Vietnam compared to the US where most cities charge around 1% of the property value. In essence, ownership in US property is more costly to maintain overtime.

Population and land mass in Thailand is very similar to Vietnam and also no property taxes and the RE values there are less than 1/4 of Vietnam. There has to be something else here at play.

That is an inaccurate statement. Thailand has a population of 65 million compared to Vietnam 95 million. Thailand also has 50% more land than Vietnam.

Vietnam has made considerable strides but it is not comparable to Thailand as Thailand is a South East Asian powerhouse for its massive tourism market prior to Covid and strong GDP. Property prices are a lot higher in Thailand.

https://www.numbeo.com/property-investm … 2=Thailand

Some good info.....I will check that out some more.

CoderX10 wrote:

SteinNebraska wrote:

Strictly supply and demand.  If people weren't buying it the price would drop.  But they are buying it.  I do think that since much of the land was purchased with cash there are no carrying costs so it lets them sit on it until they get what they want.  Sure in the last 5 years or so there has been property purchased with loans but as a percentage I think most land is paid for.  Finally, with the exception of the 2011 bubble and more recently COVID there has been steady appreciation of value.  They will "wait it out" to get what they want.

As a foriegner you also have very limited options of what you can buy, unless you are married to a citizen.  I don't recall if you are.

Agreed with Stein here. There is a lot of equity in Vietnam's real estate market and very little debt. Real estate is also a preferred vehicle to hide or launder illicit funds. Gold and diamond are close second. The government doesn't have a system in place to track where the funds of real estate transaction are coming from. Unlike the US, all real estate sales are conducted through federally regulated baking system.

Yea, a lot of good responses here folks. I'm starting to get a clearer picture.

MikeTVN wrote:

Perhaps the income to home value is off because many citizens work abroad and bring the money back in to buy RE and that way it would not reflect in the average income.

While there is some of that it's extremely small in terms of percentage.

CoderX10 wrote:

SteinNebraska wrote:

Strictly supply and demand.  If people weren't buying it the price would drop.  But they are buying it.  I do think that since much of the land was purchased with cash there are no carrying costs so it lets them sit on it until they get what they want.  Sure in the last 5 years or so there has been property purchased with loans but as a percentage I think most land is paid for.  Finally, with the exception of the 2011 bubble and more recently COVID there has been steady appreciation of value.  They will "wait it out" to get what they want.

As a foriegner you also have very limited options of what you can buy, unless you are married to a citizen.  I don't recall if you are.

Agreed with Stein here. There is a lot of equity in Vietnam's real estate market and very little debt. Real estate is also a preferred vehicle to hide or launder illicit funds. Gold and diamond are close second. The government doesn't have a system in place to track where the funds of real estate transaction are coming from. Unlike the US, all real estate sales are conducted through federally regulated baking system.

Its quite amusing that the govt makes banking for expats quite difficult due to laundering fears, yet locals are buying property with money that cant be traced. Its a complete farce, did anyone mention racisim.

Sydneyh wrote:

Hi MikeVN,

Mostly the land is the most expensive asset in the cities of Vietnam.
Especially the Area of Ho Chi Minh City is sky rocketing.
Rural area's are still very cheap and you're able to afford 50.000m2 for 100k euro's.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic the prices are staying quite stable, most people expected a bubble pop.

At the moment a lot of industry is moving from China to Vietnam(lots of korean/japanese/australian companies don't like China nowdays).
Mostly these new industries are settling around Ho Chi Minh City.
Quite a lot of people are moving to the city which increase demand in the supply and demand story, because there is just a lot of jobs available there.

What we also can see if we look at the trend is that the midclass (earning eatleast 5k a year in the family) are increasing.
Estimated is that around 10% of the people of vietnam are expected to be in the midlcass, this will increase in the following 10 years to 30%.
They're buying affordable land of around 5-8 m2 x 15-20 m2. Which cost can cost around 50kin the outskirts of the metropol. In the metropol you can expect to pay easily 500k for it, prices purely depends in which district /area the land is.
Building the house itself can cost between 8 - 12k, for two floors 15-18k. The luxerious houses ( 3-4 floors with golden gates and roman pillars etc) cost around 150k to build.
With the asian culture of 3 generation under 1 roof(seen mostly around South east asia) they help eachother by buying these assets. It's expected that the children are giving money to the parents when they're living there.

Also there are a lot of goodjobs there nowdays.
Management role pays around 1k euro's as an average and executives getting around 3-4k euro's.

Uneducated people work in factories in Ho Chi Minh City earns around 350 euro's a month. This is based on 10 years experience, (a few uncle and aunts owns a couple  factory there).
This is actually a good payroll.
Store workers are mostly earning 180 - 220 euro's a month.
Salaries in Ho Chi Minh City are higher than the rest of the country.
Also it's quite common that both the husband and wife are working there in Vietnam.

People are also upping the price nowdays based on future projects.
For example Vung tau and everything in between Vung tau and Ho Chi Minh City is bought and being build on.
Vung Tau is by the way also like Quy Nhon/Da Nang, a very interesting place for foreigners to visit.
But what I also see is that a lot of people in Ho Chi Minh City goes towards Vungh Tau during the weekend to relax and enjoy.
I notice a lot of foreigners buying and investing there, especially russian people.

Foreigners are alllowed to buy property, but they're not allowed to buy "land".
Unless you're married to a Vietnamese with a Vietnamese passport.
There are some special rules if you create a company that the long term land lease can be switched to ownership, not sure exactly how that works.

Besides the buying story, there are some special foreign law for this and additional tax, it's always good to get informed by a lawyer how things work there.

Thank you much for your very detailed explanation.

Sydneyh wrote:

Hi MikeVN,

Mostly the land is the most expensive asset in the cities of Vietnam.
Especially the Area of Ho Chi Minh City is sky rocketing.
Rural area's are still very cheap and you're able to afford 50.000m2 for 100k euro's.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic the prices are staying quite stable, most people expected a bubble pop.

At the moment a lot of industry is moving from China to Vietnam(lots of korean/japanese/australian companies don't like China nowdays).
Mostly these new industries are settling around Ho Chi Minh City.
Quite a lot of people are moving to the city which increase demand in the supply and demand story, because there is just a lot of jobs available there.

What we also can see if we look at the trend is that the midclass (earning eatleast 5k a year in the family) are increasing.
Estimated is that around 10% of the people of vietnam are expected to be in the midlcass, this will increase in the following 10 years to 30%.
They're buying affordable land of around 5-8 m2 x 15-20 m2. Which cost can cost around 50kin the outskirts of the metropol. In the metropol you can expect to pay easily 500k for it, prices purely depends in which district /area the land is.
Building the house itself can cost between 8 - 12k, for two floors 15-18k. The luxerious houses ( 3-4 floors with golden gates and roman pillars etc) cost around 150k to build.
With the asian culture of 3 generation under 1 roof(seen mostly around South east asia) they help eachother by buying these assets. It's expected that the children are giving money to the parents when they're living there.

Also there are a lot of goodjobs there nowdays.
Management role pays around 1k euro's as an average and executives getting around 3-4k euro's.

Uneducated people work in factories in Ho Chi Minh City earns around 350 euro's a month. This is based on 10 years experience, (a few uncle and aunts owns a couple  factory there).
This is actually a good payroll.
Store workers are mostly earning 180 - 220 euro's a month.
Salaries in Ho Chi Minh City are higher than the rest of the country.
Also it's quite common that both the husband and wife are working there in Vietnam.

People are also upping the price nowdays based on future projects.
For example Vung tau and everything in between Vung tau and Ho Chi Minh City is bought and being build on.
Vung Tau is by the way also like Quy Nhon/Da Nang, a very interesting place for foreigners to visit.
But what I also see is that a lot of people in Ho Chi Minh City goes towards Vungh Tau during the weekend to relax and enjoy.
I notice a lot of foreigners buying and investing there, especially russian people.

Foreigners are alllowed to buy property, but they're not allowed to buy "land".
Unless you're married to a Vietnamese with a Vietnamese passport.
There are some special rules if you create a company that the long term land lease can be switched to ownership, not sure exactly how that works.

Besides the buying story, there are some special foreign law for this and additional tax, it's always good to get informed by a lawyer how things work there.

The land you mentioned  at 50,000 m2 for 100k Euro, where is that. It must be quite bad land and a long way from everything.

Surely the two reasons are population density and the mountainous terrain, making a lot of Vietnamese land unusable for housing

Sydneyh wrote:

Rural area's are still very cheap and you're able to afford 50.000m2 for 100k euro's.

Which rural areas have sellable land at the throw away price of 2€/m2 ?

Ciambella wrote:

Sydneyh wrote:

Rural area's are still very cheap and you're able to afford 50.000m2 for 100k euro's.

Which rural areas have sellable land at the throw away price of 2€/m2 ?

Maybe Dak To, or Ben Het?

Rick

Budman1 wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

Sydneyh wrote:

Rural area's are still very cheap and you're able to afford 50.000m2 for 100k euro's.

Which rural areas have sellable land at the throw away price of 2€/m2 ?

Maybe Dak To, or Ben Het?

Rick

Even in those areas you would still struggle to get it for the prices mentioned.
The land at the prices he quoted would be far from all services, a dirt road and no electricity.

colinoscapee wrote:

Budman1 wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

Which rural areas have sellable land at the throw away price of 2€/m2 ?

Maybe Dak To, or Ben Het?

Rick

Even in those areas you would still struggle to get it for the prices mentioned.
The land at the prices he quoted would be far from all services, a dirt road and no electricity.

Yep, that's what they looked like the last time I visited them. A few years back
Rick

Sydneyh wrote:

Rural area's are still very cheap and you're able to afford 50.000m2 for 100k euro's.

Here are a few quotes of land for sale (or already sold) in rural areas in southern VN:

Oct 2018: 40,000 m2 in remote area of Ninh Thuận was sold for 600k/m2 (22€ or $26).  No land type designation.

Aug 2019:  2000 m2 in remote and sparsely inhabited area of Long An near the border of Cambodia was sold for 1M/m2 (36€ or $26.50).  No land type designation.

Aug 2019: 1000 m2 in Tiền Giang was sold for 1M/m2 (36€ or $44).  I forgot to check on land type.

Nov 2020: 180m2 in An Giang, residential, asking 2M/m2 (72€ or $88).  Caveat: 9 owners (meaning negotiate at your own risk).  Also 227m2, asking 1.9M/m2 (68€ or $84) .  Same 9 owners. 

There are many more but nothing is listed at 2€/m2.  Prices in rural northern VN are 20 - 100 times higher.

Relating to the topic of this thread, below is an article from Tài Chính, the information agency of the Ministry of Finance.  (Translation is mine, quickly done so it may sound awkward.)

"During the economic crisis due to COVID-19, people with spare money are eager to buy land and wait for the market to recover.  Many businesses took advantage of this hype to illegally divide forest and agricultural land into individual lots and sell them at 100-200M/lot.  Many people who thought to buy cheaply and sell quickly for profits are now burying their capital in useless land.

Notable recently (June 2020) was the illegal sale of forest land in Lang Son where some individuals arbitrarily leveled the forest land, built surrounding walls and divided into lots for sale. With the help of a number of local officials, these lots were legalized to allow conversion to residential land

[snip]

Even in cases where red book has been issued, the conversion from forest land to residential land can cost a lot of money and the resale of these lots is now impossible.

Similarly, tens of hectares of Quang Ngai's agricultural land were butchered for the same purpose.  Taking advantage of the policy of prioritizing the development of real estate projects to increase provincial budget revenue, many businesses have collected cheap agricultural land, submitted it to be part of the projects, then subdivide it for sale.

Investors who bought into those projects will have a hard time seeing their rewards because it's unknown when the new project will be implemented. 

[snip]

A representative of a company distributing cheap agricultural land in Binh Thuan also confirmed to the market research unit of Batdongsan.com.vn, that the lots this company offered for sale cannot be converted to residential land.  Nevertheless, the company sees plenty of buyers because the land price is low and the lots are individually registered.  Many transactions were done solely due to people's hope that if/when a project is planned in the future, the land will be converted to residential properties and their investment will rocket."

Here's a simple thought related back to the OP's original question:

In many countries, especially in the United States, sale of land is usually targeted toward citizens of that country.

It seems to me that a major factor in the inflation of land prices here is the sense that foreign entities are salivating over the chance to own land here and use it according to their purposes.

This isn't simply baseless theory on my part.

I seriously looked into the possibility of acquiring property near Tam Kỳ at Tam Thanh in Quảng Nam:

maps.app.goo.gl/96y6pLKHhLn5hrpDA

Virtually every available property there has been purchased by a speculator who is offering it for resale.

When you spend a little time talking with the locals there, you find that they let the property go for what they felt it was worth locally, but these speculators are now asking for double to triple the price (or more) based upon the sense that someday it's going to be a hot spot for foreign investment.

I think inflated prices bleed over within the country to other real estate transactions that aren't necessarily in potentially tourist-friendly areas.

There's just a sense that land is worth more than the going price because somebody sometime is eventually going to take advantage of it.

Ciambella wrote:

Sydneyh wrote:

Rural area's are still very cheap and you're able to afford 50.000m2 for 100k euro's.

Here are a few quotes of land for sale (or already sold) in rural areas in southern VN:

Oct 2018: 40,000 m2 in remote area of Ninh Thuận was sold for 600k/m2 (22€ or $26).  No land type designation.

Aug 2019:  2000 m2 in remote and sparsely inhabited area of Long An near the border of Cambodia was sold for 1M/m2 (36€ or $26.50).  No land type designation.

Aug 2019: 1000 m2 in Tiền Giang was sold for 1M/m2 (36€ or $44).  I forgot to check on land type.

Nov 2020: 180m2 in An Giang, residential, asking 2M/m2 (72€ or $88).  Caveat: 9 owners (meaning negotiate at your own risk).  Also 227m2, asking 1.9M/m2 (68€ or $84) .  Same 9 owners. 

There are many more but nothing is listed at 2€/m2.  Prices in rural northern VN are 20 - 100 times higher.

It's out there but generally not advertised.

My farm is 26,000 meters and was 50,000 per meter.   It's all in cashew and black pepper.  My brother in law's farm is 10,000 meters and was 50,000 per meter.  His is all black pepper.  Both a couple km apart and were bought within the last year.  And mine has 300 meters of large lake frontage.  The house will go where the burn pile of trees is in the picture below.



I can buy more farms in the area for 50,000, no problem but the next piece I'm buying is 80,000 per meter.  I'll buy it because it adjoins mine and is all planted to rubber trees which are 20-25 cm in diameter and producing very well.  It's also 10,000 meters.

It's about 3.5 hours from HCMC so not completely in the middle of nowhere.

SteinNebraska wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

Sydneyh wrote:

Rural area's are still very cheap and you're able to afford 50.000m2 for 100k euro's.

Here are a few quotes of land for sale (or already sold) in rural areas in southern VN:

Oct 2018: 40,000 m2 in remote area of Ninh Thuận was sold for 600k/m2 (22€ or $26).  No land type designation.

Aug 2019:  2000 m2 in remote and sparsely inhabited area of Long An near the border of Cambodia was sold for 1M/m2 (36€ or $26.50).  No land type designation.

Aug 2019: 1000 m2 in Tiền Giang was sold for 1M/m2 (36€ or $44).  I forgot to check on land type.

Nov 2020: 180m2 in An Giang, residential, asking 2M/m2 (72€ or $88).  Caveat: 9 owners (meaning negotiate at your own risk).  Also 227m2, asking 1.9M/m2 (68€ or $84) .  Same 9 owners. 

There are many more but nothing is listed at 2€/m2.  Prices in rural northern VN are 20 - 100 times higher.

It's out there but generally not advertised.

My farm is 26,000 meters and was 50,000 per meter.   It's all in cashew and black pepper.  My brother in law's farm is 10,000 meters and was 50,000 per meter.  His is all black pepper.  Both a couple km apart and were bought within the last year.  And mine has 300 meters of large lake frontage.  The house will go where the burn pile of trees is in the picture below.

https://i.imgur.com/MzxZeML.jpg

I can buy more farms in the area for 50,000, no problem but the next piece I'm buying is 80,000 per meter.  I'll buy it because it adjoins mine and is all planted to rubber trees which are 20-25 cm in diameter and producing very well.  It's also 10,000 meters.

It's about 3.5 hours from HCMC so not completely in the middle of nowhere.

3.5 hours from a major city prices drop dramitically. If I remember correctly your land is in Binh Phuoc, not an area the average expat would want to live. Come back around Ben Cat and the prices will be four-fold of those in Binh Phuoc.

I have land near Binh Chau, 11 klms fom the ocean and its 1.2 million per sqmt and land in My Tho on a river which is 4 million a square mt. Only the land at My Tho would be desirable for living.

saw this on FB this morning.

goodolboy wrote:

saw this on FB this morning.

https://postimg .cc

You are using the most retarded image hosting service on the internet, and the first thing it shows you when you click on the image is an advertisement, so really whether you intend to or not you are posting spam

A much better option is a free Wordpress account.

You can upload up to 3 GB of images free, then use the unique URL for each image to share here and elsewhere online

I think posting an advert for cheap land is his intention as to follow the subject of conversation.

Ciambella wrote:

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

You are using the most retarded image hosting service on the internet, and the first thing it shows you when you click on the image is an advertisement, so really whether you intend to or not you are posting spam

I think posting an advert for cheap land is his intention as to follow the subject of conversation.

Sure. But it's still ends up being an image that's too small so you need to click on the image to see it full size. That's when the advertisement pops up and you really don't see the image full size immediately. You're now on a website.

Instead he could do this...

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

You are using the most retarded image hosting service on the internet, and the first thing it shows you when you click on the image is an advertisement, so really whether you intend to or not you are posting spam

I think posting an advert for cheap land is his intention as to follow the subject of conversation.

Sure. But it's still ends up being an image that's too small so you need to click on the image to see it full size. That's when the advertisement pops up and you really don't see the image full size immediately. You're now on a website.

Instead he could do this...

[img align=C]https://gordythomas.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/land1-01.jpeg[/url]

Oh thank you so much for your expert guidance on my photos, pity you did not use the same expert guidance to everyone on the legal situation here in Vietnam regarding "off plan" situation regarding property purchases.

colinoscapee wrote:

Only the land at My Tho would be desirable for living.

My Tho is a really nice city except if you intend for your children to inherit the property, you will need to consider that it could be fully underwater in 50 years.

colinoscapee wrote:

3.5 hours from a major city prices drop dramitically. If I remember correctly your land is in Binh Phuoc, not an area the average expat would want to live. Come back around Ben Cat and the prices will be four-fold of those in Binh Phuoc.

You are correct and also no expats.  I'm the only foreigner in the area.  That said it was more addressing some earlier comments and showing that you don't have to go into the mountains or central Vietnam to find land that cheap.

My farm is on the main highway through the area.  It's 2km to the market and most retail shops.  They even opened a new Co-Op Food Mart in the market a few months ago so it's not completely out in the sticks.

THIGV wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Only the land at My Tho would be desirable for living.

My Tho is a really nice city except if you intend for your children to inherit the property, you will need to consider that it could be fully underwater in 50 years.

The land at My Tho is not for the distant future, it's an investment property.

SteinNebraska wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

3.5 hours from a major city prices drop dramitically. If I remember correctly your land is in Binh Phuoc, not an area the average expat would want to live. Come back around Ben Cat and the prices will be four-fold of those in Binh Phuoc.

You are correct and also no expats.  I'm the only foreigner in the area.  That said it was more addressing some earlier comments and showing that you don't have to go into the mountains or central Vietnam to find land that cheap.

My farm is on the main highway through the area.  It's 2km to the market and most retail shops.  They even opened a new Co-Op Food Mart in the market a few months ago so it's not completely out in the sticks.

I suppose it is all relative to what you are buying. Fertile flat land would be quite high, whereas, dry, infertile,undulating land can be had for a song.

colinoscapee wrote:

SteinNebraska wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

3.5 hours from a major city prices drop dramitically. If I remember correctly your land is in Binh Phuoc, not an area the average expat would want to live. Come back around Ben Cat and the prices will be four-fold of those in Binh Phuoc.

You are correct and also no expats.  I'm the only foreigner in the area.  That said it was more addressing some earlier comments and showing that you don't have to go into the mountains or central Vietnam to find land that cheap.

My farm is on the main highway through the area.  It's 2km to the market and most retail shops.  They even opened a new Co-Op Food Mart in the market a few months ago so it's not completely out in the sticks.

I suppose it is all relative to what you are buying. Fertile flat land would be quite high, whereas, dry, infertile,undulating land can be had for a song.

How about land in the Mekong Delta with gold deposits  on it, bet that costs a bob or two!!

goodolboy wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

SteinNebraska wrote:

You are correct and also no expats.  I'm the only foreigner in the area.  That said it was more addressing some earlier comments and showing that you don't have to go into the mountains or central Vietnam to find land that cheap.

My farm is on the main highway through the area.  It's 2km to the market and most retail shops.  They even opened a new Co-Op Food Mart in the market a few months ago so it's not completely out in the sticks.

I suppose it is all relative to what you are buying. Fertile flat land would be quite high, whereas, dry, infertile,undulating land can be had for a song.

How about land in the Mekong Delta with gold deposits  on it, bet that costs a bob or two!!

Please contact Mr Marriot for further information.

MikeTVN wrote:

Why is real estate so expensive in Vietnam relative to income level. Average monthly income in VN is about 1/25th ($148 vs $3,714) of the US and yet real estate prices are fairly equal to the US when you consider the same amount of land. That makes it 25 times more expensive than in the US. I think. Your thoughts?

You make an EXCELLENT point.  Although I bought a new condo/apartment in District 2 (now Thu Duc city) for $65,000 USD - 60 sq meters.  Compare to where I was living (Miami, Washington D.C) you can't get a new apartment condo for 60 sq meters with a magnificent  city view for that price. 

So I do think it's better to buy in Vietnam then I can sell it later.   After living here for 5 years, the neighbors just sold their apartment for double the price that they bought it for.  So you can definitely make money investing in real estate in VN.

To answer the OPs question: TINA, there is no alternative. Unlike most developed countries where people can invest in stocks (domestic or foreign), a wide variety of bond, private equity, and mutual funds, real estate, etc., in Vietnam people are pretty much limited to local real estate because the local stock market has few good companies and currency controls mean that foreign markets are off limits. So savings, speculative money, and black market gains are all pushed into real estate which forces prices up, which brings in even more money as people see prices continuously rise, and the bubble keeps inflating. A bit like the US stock market at present. To give you an idea how expensive prices are here on a relative basis, I recently bought a nice piece of land in one of the most popular Japanese ski resorts for less than 1/10th of the land price near Hoi An or Da Hang where I live. Of course Japanese building costs are far higher, so the final cost of a house may not be that different...