The median home price in Ho Chi Minh City is 32.5 times that of a local median annual household income, making it the second least affordable property market in Asia-Pacific, a report has found.
The median home price in HCMC is at US$296,000 per unit, compared to compared to the city median annual household income of $9,100, according to the 2023 Asia Pacific Home Attainability Index report by Singapore-based research firm The Urban Land Institute (ULI).
In terms of affordability, the city ranked second from the bottom to China’s Shenzhen, which has a ratio of 35 times.
“Many home buyers are speculative investors who own multiple units, further driving up house prices,” ULI said in a press release, referring to HCMC.
Of five major cities in Vietnam, the home-price-over-income ratio is at 26.7 times in Da Nang and 21.4 times in Hai Phong.
It is 18.3 in Hanoi and 16.5 in Can Tho.
Hanoi median home price is $182,300 per unit, 38% lower than that of HCMC.
Homeownership is considered unaffordable when the ratio of the median home price to median annual household income exceeds five, ULI said.
The report surveyed 45 cities in nine countries: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Apart from Shenzhen and HCMC, the least affordable property markets are Beijing, Da Nang and Hong Kong.
