The Hanoi People's Committee recently approved the proposal to demolish the "Shark Jaw" building and consider the design and renovation plan for the Dong Kinh - Nghia Thuc Square area in Hoan Kiem district.

After demolishing the "Shark Jaws" building, the city will study the construction of about 3 basements and propose specific functions for each floor, including the arrangement of cultural and commercial spaces in basement 1, and parking areas in basements 2 and 3.

According to a survey by Dan Tri reporters, the 6-storey "Shark Jaw" building is being leased to brands for business purposes. With a prime location facing Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square and close to Hoan Kiem Lake, the rental price of the "Shark Jaw" building is always among the most expensive in the capital.

More than 10 years ago, the first floor of this building was rented to two large fashion companies for about 210 million VND/month with an area of ​​100 square meters. Thus, each year these fashion companies had to pay about 2.5 billion VND in rent.

In August 2023, on a real estate buying and selling and renting website, a 75m2 property on the first floor of the "Shark Jaw" building was offered for rent at a price of 230 million VND/month, equivalent to more than 3 million VND/m2/month. Thus, the tenant will have to pay about 2.8 billion VND/year.

Currently, the business premises in this building are fully occupied. In fact, due to its prime location, the rental price of business premises in the "Shark Jaw" building is always high and increases over time. In addition, the prices of food and drinks sold in this building are also higher than the general level but still attract domestic and foreign customers to use.

However, in reality, the rental price of the "Shark Jaw" building is not the most expensive in the capital. According to data from a market research company, Trang Tien Street (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) ranks 18th (17th in 2023) in the list of 51 streets with the highest retail rental prices in the world in the Asia-Pacific region.

Trang Tien Street has a rental price of 300 USD/m2/month, equivalent to 7.65 million VND/m2/month, an increase of 50% compared to the pre-pandemic level and unchanged compared to the same period last year. The rental price on this street is higher than many famous streets in Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing (China), Bangkok (Thailand) or Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)...

In addition, in Vietnam, Dong Khoi Street (HCMC) is considered to have the most expensive rental price. Specifically, the rental price of retail space on Dong Khoi Street reaches 330 USD/m2/month, equivalent to nearly 8.3 million VND/m2/month.

Ms. Trang Bui - General Director of Cushman & Wakefield - said that retail brands from luxury to mass are increasing investment in physical stores in strategic locations to display products and attract consumers' attention.

According to Mr. Tuan Anh, director of a real estate brokerage company in Hanoi, the rent for the premises in this building is calculated in USD. Therefore, in addition to increasing the price over time, the price will also increase according to the exchange rate difference between VND and USD.

"Currently, many rental properties in Hanoi have a general price increase of about 5-10%/year. For example, in the first year, the tenant has to pay 200 million VND/month, in the second year, the rent increases by 10%, equivalent to 220 million VND/month," he said.