After the “hot fever”, the level of interest has decreased, but apartment prices are still anchored at a high level. Should I put down the money at this time or continue to wait?
I am 30 years old, from Hung Yen, currently living and working in Hanoi. The couple’s monthly income is about 28 million VND. Living expenses per month are about 13 million VND, of which rent and electricity and water are 5 million VND, the rest are other expenses.
The total current assets of my husband and I are about 1 billion VND, of which 600 million VND is self-savings, 400 million is given by both parents to buy a house. Because my wife and I are not good at investing, the money is only for savings at very low interest rates today.
We originally planned to buy an apartment to stabilize our long-term life. However, since the beginning of the year, apartment prices have continuously increased, making us wonder and postpone the plan to buy a house.
Recently, I read information in the newspaper, there is a survey showing that the number of searches and the level of interest in apartments has decreased. Although the price is still anchored at a high level, it has reduced the situation of shouting prices “in the sky” as before.
The broker has also actively contacted my wife and me, talking about having goodwill landlords who can negotiate discounts on some units. Looking at some apartments, we see that in the past two months prices have been flat. Some projects have uneven price reductions depending on each area, which can be reduced from 100-300 million VND/unit.
Recently, I was informed by the broker that my wife and I previously wanted to buy an apartment in Ha Dong, the owner of the apartment accepted a discount of 200 million, including the name transfer fee at the current price of about 2.5 billion VND. Although the price has been reduced, I see that this price is still quite high. Therefore, my wife and I are very hesitant to buy now or continue to wait?
If we buy, we plan to buy an apartment in Ha Dong or Long Bien area, the price is about 2.2-2.5 billion VND. My wife and I will borrow 600 million VND from brothers and relatives, this amount will not have to pay interest. The rest of my wife and I borrow from the bank, the preferential interest rate for the first two years is about 8%, then it will float.
Buy now, you will always have a house to live in. However, after 3 years of marriage, we plan to have children in the near future, our income will be reduced, the cost of living will increase, and we will have to pay principal and interest on bank loans, so the financial pressure is not small. Loans to relatives do not lose interest, but they are unstable because if everyone needs them, they must arrange to pay them at any time.
On the other hand, I am also worried that if the demand for interest in apartments continues to decrease over time, the price will not be able to anchor high forever, buying now is not good enough to be “cheated”.
As for the plan to wait for a while, my wife and I will have time to accumulate more money, reduce bank loans and reduce financial pressure. If the apartment market cools down, we can buy a house at a better price than now.
However, I saw that the media reported that some experts said that in the near future, the supply of apartments has not improved, so it is difficult for apartment prices to decrease. If this happens, the house price does not decrease but continues to increase, then my wife and I have to buy at a higher price.
Currently, banks are simultaneously increasing deposit interest rates, so lending rates will also gradually increase. This makes me worried that the more I wait, the more I will have to borrow from a bank with a higher interest rate when buying.
This is the first time we have bought a house, and we are not knowledgeable about the real estate market, so we are very worried, because we see that every option has advantages and disadvantages depending on market developments.
I am looking forward to receiving everyone’s analysis and comments on whether my wife and I should buy an apartment at this time or continue to wait?
