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After more than five months of trying to sell his 40-square meter house in an alley in Tan Binh Ward, Minh recently sold it for VND6.9 billion (US$262,000) after reducing his price by 8%.

He says: “Lots of people came to see the house, but most offered prices below my expectations. If I had kept the old price, it would have been very difficult to sell.”

Others are unable to sell for an even longer period. The owner of an 85-square-meter house in An Hoi Dong Ward said the property had been listed for sale since the middle of last year at VND11 billion.

Many people viewed the house, but most were only willing to pay VND7-8 billion. The owner has lowered the price to around VND10 billion, but has still not found a buyer.

Brokers in HCMC said it has been a common occurrence this year, with sellers lowering prices for high-value shophouses and other private homes amid a liquidity slump, but still being unable to attract buyers.

Listing data reviewed by VnExpress also shows that the prices of private houses are being lowered in many places in HCMC.

In central and areas and nearby, prices have fallen by about 3-8% from the beginning of the year, with some areas seeing declines of more than 10%. More outlying areas have seen sharper falls of 5-12%.

The shophouse segment has seen a similar trend, with prices in inner-city and outlying areas falling by 5-10% and 6-8%.

Data from property listing platform Batdongsan shows the price decline becoming more evident in the second quarter.

Average asking price for shophouse in HCMC fell 8% from late last year to VND197 million per square meter. Single-family house prices fell by 3.4% to VND116 million.

Ha Quang Vy, a veteran shophouse broker, says the slowdown in the market liquidity is affecting these two segments.

As transactions slow, buyers no longer rush to make payments as they did during the price boom, when they feared missing out on the action, he explains.

Now they carefully survey the market, comparing options and negotiating before making decisions, he adds.

The high bank mortgage interest rates, which has sharply reduced demand for leverage, has also weakened demand.

Pham Ngoc Huyen, head of a property brokerage in HCMC, says prices of private houses and shophouses often depend on homeowners’ expectations and local valuation levels than on clear benchmarks.

In recent years, the segments appreciated rapidly in value thanks to a preference for properties with land and a spillover effect from rising apartment prices, causing price levels to exceed affordability of genuine homebuyers. Besides, the rental yield on private houses and shophouses has declined to just 2%.

From the demand perspective, Dinh Minh Tuan, southern regional director of Batdongsan, says the private house segment is being strongly affected by changing homebuying behavior, especially among younger buyers.

While owning inner-city landed property was once considered a top priority, buyers now increasingly prioritize quality of life, financial balance, and access to amenities.

Many prefer an apartment in non-central areas if they have infrastructure, parking, green space, and a full range of amenities instead of a house deep inside an inner-city alley.

But analysts think this is temporary and as inner-city land becomes increasingly scarce and high-rise developments face tighter restrictions, properties in good locations and with proper legal status will beat the broader market for demand.