Soaring Land Prices In Vientiane: up to $3,500 per square meter

With the city developing at a rapid pace, the real estate prices are soaring in Vientiane.

Land prices in Vientiane have risen to over US$ 2,500 per square meter in some areas, up to two hundred times the price in areas in the outskirts of the city.

In prime business areas of the capital the prices are around $2,700 to $3,500 per square meter; the prices are expected to keep rising.

The price per square meter is about the same as annual income of the average city resident, which city officials in April said was $2,750, according to the Vientiane Times newspaper.

By comparison, in residential areas of Vientiane, one square meter goes for between $500 and $700, and in rural areas nearby, between $15 and $50.

The swift increase in the value of real estate comes amid a new city development plan that officials outlined last year. According to the plan, several new sub-centers will be created to expand the town and reduce traffic congestion in the city center.

The plan will also help accommodate the city’s expanding population, currently at about 700,000 and expected to double by 2030, the paper said.

The city is on track to see economic growth of 12 percent this year—compared to 7.8 percent in the rest of the country—driven mostly by industrial development projects.

Anticipating higher values, investors are scrambling to buy land for resale in areas where the government has planned to build new road and satellite cities.

Source: Radio Free Asia / Vientiane Times / others