The rich also cannot buy land in the West Lake’s golden land area VietNamNet Bridge – Though the land in the West Lake area is exorbitant, it has been hunted by the rich. The land price in the area and the old streets’ area is the highest in Hanoi. The expensive golden land area unceasingly increases in prices The West Lake land area is believed to be the most expensive in Hanoi, while the high prices keep rising even in the context of the gloomy real estate market. Nguyen Hai Minh, a Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) in France, said he is seeking to buy a land plot in the area, planning to build apartments here for lease. After a long period of working with real estate brokers, Minh still has not found the land plot he wants. “I was exceedingly astonished with the sky high prices of the land in the West Lake area. The land here is as expensive as gold, with every square meter worth at hundreds of millions of dong,” Minh said. “At the time when the real estate market was scorching hot, the seller required VND600 million for every square meter. I guess the land plot is now priced at VND400-500 million per square meter,” he added. Minh has estimated that he would have to spend VND80-100 million at least to be able to buy a satisfactory land plot on which he would build apartments for lease, mostly to expats in Vietnam. Thanh, a broker, has offered to sell a villa facing the West Lake, located near Sheraton Hotel at VND350 million per square meter. According to Thanh, the villa has many great advantages. It covers an area of 165 square meters, located in the “VIP” area. Especially, the owners of the villa can have the nice view into the West Lake. Thanh also said that the villas with large area and car garage could be sold for better prices. The buyers are mostly Viet Kieu or businessmen, who later develop high end apartments for leasing to foreigners. Though the land prices here are sky high, very few successful transactions have been reported because very few landlords want to sell land at this moment. According to a real estate firm, the land price in the West Lake area hovers around VND300-500 million per square meter. The land plots in the area around the Tay Ho Temple, the area near the head office of the district’s party committee and the apricot growing area near Lac Long Quan Street have been catching the biggest attention. Especially, the area on the lakeside belonging to the Quang An ward proves to be the most expensive, worth VND600 million per square meter. Not only land plots or villas, the apartments with the view to the West Lake are also very expensive. An apartment at a high end project has been sold at VND50 million per square meter, while a penthouse at VND85 million. The developer of an apartment project here has offered to sell the products at VND46 million per square meter, though only the foundation of the apartment bloc has been set. The West Lake area has been favored by people because feng shui experts believe it the area can bring prosperity and luck. Real estate firms also believe that this is the rare area which could be the good environment for foreigners to live. Duy Anh