Le Huu Nghia, CEO of Ho Chi Minh City-based housing developer Le Thanh, said steel prices have nearly doubled this year to VND25-26 million ($1,085-1,129) per ton and sand prices have quintupled in the last five years.
With construction costs typically accounting for 60-70 percent of an apartment’s price tag, the rise in the prices of materials would increase it by 18 percent, he said.
"It is impossible that apartment prices will fall."
This could cause the dwindling supply of affordable apartments, priced at VND25-30 million per square meter, disappear altogether, he warned.
