Rental listings claiming close proximity to Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line are booming, with noticeable price hikes ahead of its commercial launch later this month.
In social media rental groups targeting areas across Thu Duc City, an administrative district-level unit in the southern metropolis, landlords market their properties as conveniently located near the metro.
These posts boast features such as spacious, clean rooms while emphasizing accessibility to the metro.
However, actual distances are often much farther than claimed.
Among them, one recent listing posted by Facebook user H. on November 26 advertised a fully furnished 20-square-meter room near Binh Thai Intersection for VND3.5 million (US$137) per month, claiming it was just 50 meters from the metro.
When reached for comment, H. confirmed the details but hesitated when asked to name the nearest metro station.
Meanwhile, in other online rental groups, the same property had been listed a few months earlier at lower rates, typically VND100,000-200,000 ($4–8) less per month.
Before the commercial operation of Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line was announced, the same property had been advertised at lower rates, typically VND100,000-200,000 ($4-8) per month less. Photo: An Vi |
When a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondent visited another property listed as three minutes away from the metro, she was directed to a location several kilometers away.
The advertised room, located in a small alley on Linh Trung Street in Linh Trung Ward, Thu Duc City, required a 10-minute drive to reach the nearest station – the Saigon Hi-Tech Park.
Moreover, this street is often congested at rush hour.
P., who claimed to be the owner of this property, said that the monthly rent prices were up by VND200,000 compared to October, citing the upcoming launch of the metro as the reason behind the rent price increase.
A Facebook user listed her property as three minutes away from metro line No. 1 but it takes 10 minutes to drive from the unit to the nearest station, the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, located in Thu Duc City, an administrative district-level unit in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: An Vi |
L., another Facebook user, claimed in a listing that their room was in close proximity to the An Phu Station and offered at VND4.4 million ($157) per month, but the room was found to be four kilometers away.
Some tenants in the area said that the advertised rent of VND4.4 million was much higher than what they had previously paid for similar units.
Monthly rental rates in areas along the metro line, including Linh Trung Ward, Binh Tho Ward, and Phuoc Long A Ward, range from VND1.8 million ($71) to VND6 million ($235).
Several landlords in these areas admitted to raising rents as the metro approaches commercial operation, scheduled for December 22.
Monthly rental rates in areas along Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line have been adjusted up. Photo: An Vi |
The city’s metro line No. 1 is 19.7 kilometers long and stretches from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City.
It includes 2.6 kilometers of underground urban rail link, 17.1 kilometers of elevated track, and carries a price tag of VND43.7 trillion ($1.7 billion).
The line has a total of 17 trains, each capable of accommodating 930 passengers, including 147 sitting and 783 standing.
Construction on the metro line began in 2012.
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