In the case of apartments, most families want one with two bedrooms and measuring 65 square meters in the VND2.3-8 billion (US$90,000-315,000) price range, according to a recent study by the HCMC Institute for Development Studies.
But they only have enough money to pay for 53% of the the price, the study, which looked at housing demand from now through 2030, said.
In the case of houses, a 66-square-meter unit costing VND2.8-15 billion is desirable for most families, who can pay only 49% of it.
Those who want land lots in the range of VND1.74-10 billion can only pay 68%.
In all scenarios the surveyed participants said they would source the money from their savings and borrow from family members or banks.
As 99% of people seeking to buy a home want one in HCMC and not in neighboring provinces, the city needs at least half a million housing units by 2030, the institute said.
An earlier survey by property listing platform Batdongsan found that an average individual of around 30 years of age needs 25.8 years of total income to pay for a VND3 billion apartment in Hanoi and HCMC if prices remain unchanged.
Economist Can Van Luc said in some foreign countries a young person needs to work for 10-15 years to be able to save for a home, but in Vietnam it might take 23-25 years, which means they would be close to retirement age by the time they buy one.
A shortage of housing supply in HCMC has driven up prices.
In the first 11 months of 2024 only 31 housing projects with 31,200 units got underway, or a third of the usual number, according to the city Department of Construction.
Of them, 1,600 units were available for sale at an average price of VND9.4 billion.
Data from the HCMC Real Estate Association shows that a 65-sq.m two-bedroom apartment costs around VND4 billion now.
It is difficult to find anything for under VND3 billion, it added.
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