Demand for real estate in the two largest cities in the country, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, both decreased in the third quarter. Investors have left the “hot zone” and are looking for satellite markets with better room for price increases. Which areas are those?
According to online data from Batdongsan.com.vn, interest levels in the two central cities in the third quarter showed signs of slowing down. In Hanoi, interest decreased by 22% compared to the same period in 2024, while in Ho Chi Minh City, interest remained almost unchanged (+0%) or decreased slightly in new areas (-1%).
On the contrary, neighboring provinces have emerged as “bright spots” attracting investment flows leaving the central area. Accordingly, real estate searches in the suburbs of Hanoi increased by 11%, in the South, although some places decreased by up to 12%, many localities still showed a clear rebound. In the North, satellite provinces of Hanoi, especially Hai Phong, Hung Yen and Bac Ninh are showing clear attraction, attracting investors to leave the inner city, looking for potential projects and locations. These are also the 3 provinces leading the number of searches in the group of northern provinces.
According to online data from Batdongsan.com.vn, Hai Phong real estate market maintains a positive growth rate in both price and interest level from the first quarter of 2023 to the end of the third quarter of 2025.
Specifically, while rental real estate prices in Hai Phong are quite stable, selling prices have a better growth rate. The average selling price of the whole market in the third quarter of 2025 increased by an average of 4 million/m2 compared to the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 6 million/m2 compared to the same period in 2023. Compared to Hanoi, the room for price increase of Hai Phong real estate is still large when it has not grown hot and is quite stable. Accordingly, apartment prices in Hanoi in the past 2 years have increased by 92%, land prices increased by 63%, private house prices increased by 82%. In the same reference period, apartment prices in Hai Phong increased by about 17%, land prices increased by about 32%, private house prices increased by about 21%.
The price increase is steady and stable while the infrastructure planning of the Port City is very developed. After the merger, Hai Phong ranked 3rd in the country in terms of GRDP and FDI accumulated to 2024. The number of industrial parks and population also ranked 4th in the country. Hai Phong is orienting to organize socio-economic activities according to the urban model of 2 belts, 3 corridors, 3 urban centers and satellite cities, thereby promoting the urbanization process, the premise for the real estate market to develop strongly.
With the above potential, Hai Phong is attracting investors with medium and long-term vision. Data from Batdongsan.com.vn shows that while the level of interest in Hanoi real estate in the third quarter of 2025 decreased by 22% compared to the same period in 2024, the number of searches for real estate in Hai Phong increased by more than 20%. Compared to the beginning of 2025, the online behavior of investors and buyers in the past 9 months shows an increase of about 33%. Hai Phong is also the leading locality in terms of attractiveness compared to the remaining northern provinces, followed by Hung Yen and Bac Ninh.
If the number of searches for Hai Phong real estate in the first 9 months of 2025 is used as a reference point with an index of 100, Hung Yen ranks 2nd with an index of 62, followed by Bac Ninh with an index of 35. These are also two provinces with large investments in infrastructure and socio-economics, attracting FDI, and are also localities with many industrial parks in the North.
In addition to the above three localities, Quang Ninh, Hoa Binh and Vinh Phuc (now part of Phu Tho) also have high search indexes, from 17 to 31. Together with Hai Phong, Hung Yen and Bac Ninh, these are the northern provinces outside Hanoi, accounting for 80% of the total searches in the entire northern region. In the first 9 months of 2025, Hoa Binh (old) led the interest level with an increase of 65%, Bac Giang (old) increased by 61%, Quang Ninh increased by 56%, followed by Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc (old) increased by 50%, 48%, 42% and 26% respectively compared to the beginning of the year.
Thus, the real estate picture in the North in the third quarter of 2025 shows a clear trend of shifting outside of Hanoi, with the focus being on the three provinces of Hai Phong, Bac Ninh (mainly the old Bac Giang area) and Hung Yen. The online behavior of buyers and investors is a clear indication that investment cash flow has sought out areas with great potential for price increases outside of Hanoi, shaping investment trends in the coming time.
