A modest municipal land fund and virtually abandoned My Dinh urban area hasn’t stopped prices from escalating on villas in Hanoi.
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| Dozens of worthy villas covered with moss and weeds. |
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| Only one villa is occupied. |
Dozens of villas in An Sinh Apartment Block of the My Dinh II new urban area in Tu Liem district, Hanoi, have become weathered, neglected and basically empty living spaces.
These villas were built just five years ago yet very few people live in them.
“Sometimes, I see some people going here to see these houses. I guess they want to buy,” a citizen in the area said.
Neglected for years, these villas are spotted with moss while yards are covered with weeds.
Locals say that these houses occupy over 100 square metres each and are priced at between VND140 million and VND150 million (USD7,000 and USD7,500) per square metre. The villas look decrepit from the outside at a time when people dream of a house to live in, many don’t have an inch of land to pick a tent, and housing price fever is abundant.
Dr. Pham Sy Liem, head of the Vietnam Construction Federation said the damage is not only wasteful but also leaves a stain on the municipal urban image. He noted that the situation indicated pointless planning and wasteful land use.
Liem elaborated on the fact that such a populous city like Hanoi having villas is rather rare as in many countries in the world, villas are to serve only the rich.
He attributed the situation to realty speculation, adding that recent cooling in the real estate market has hindered speculators from pumping more money in buying and selling these houses.
Worse still, locals said these fallowed villas have become ‘shelter” for thieves and drug addicts.