Traditional rental rooms in Vinh City are experiencing low demand during the back-to-school season.

Traditional rental rooms are experiencing low occupancy rates.

The beginning of the new academic year is considered the peak season for renting accommodation as many new students begin their studies. However, in contrast to the hustle and bustle of previous years, many traditional rental accommodations in the area are experiencing a lull.Vinh CityThere are currently no inquiries about renting.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh's family in Hung Dung ward owns two rows of rental houses with 14 rooms. For over a decade, Ms. Oanh's rental rooms have always been the top choice for tenants.studentIt's located near universities like Vinh Medical University and Vinh University of Technology and Education. However, this year, only half of the rooms are occupied, the rest are still "waiting for tenants".

Ms. Oanh shared: “In previous years at this time, parents and siblings of students would come to view rooms for rent for their children starting university. But for the past two years, it's been very quiet. Last year, we didn't get many rooms until October 2022, and this year, the number of people inquiring about renting has dropped significantly. Every day I clean and tidy the rooms, waiting for students to rent, but only a few come, ask questions, and then leave. The rooms that are currently occupied are mostly rented by working adults; there are very few students…”

It's not just Ms. Oanh's boarding house; hundreds of boarding houses in Vinh City are currently facing the same situation. Most are deserted, and the further away from universities and colleges, the more desolate they become.

Reportedly, rental prices in Vinh City have dropped drastically. Self-contained rooms now cost between 700,000 and 1 million VND per month depending on size, while rooms without private bathrooms (shared bathrooms) cost only 300,000 to 600,000 VND per month. However, these prices are still not attracting tenants. Some landlords are even willing to allow rent payments later, primarily hoping to secure tenants to prevent their properties from remaining vacant for too long.

There are many reasons why many boarding houses in Vinh City are experiencing low occupancy rates. The main reason is the significant decrease in the number of students attending universities, colleges, and vocational schools in the city, who are the primary target tenants for these boarding houses. Many high school graduates tend to seek employment elsewhere or work abroad, thus no longer attending these schools.

Furthermore, another reason is that most of the vacant rental properties are old, small, have hot corrugated iron roofs, inconveniently located toilets, and do not meet environmental standards. Some are also located in areas prone to annual flooding. Therefore, even with significant rent reductions, many tenants remain uninterested.

Upgrade the rooms to attract guests.

To mitigate the lack of tenants, many landlords have intensified their advertising on social media, offered rent reductions for those who paid in advance, and even printed and posted advertising signs with phone numbers for easy contact, but still haven't seen any positive results.

According to our investigation, the current trend among students and renters is to seek rooms with full amenities, such as sharing an entire house or renting newly built rooms. Although the price is double that of traditional rooms, many tenants are still willing to pay. Understanding this mindset, many landlords are forced to upgrade and renovate their rooms to attract tenants.

Ms. Phan Thi Hien, a landlord in Ben Thuy ward, said: "Nowadays, economic conditions are very different from the past. Parents invest more in their children's education, and students won't rent rooms that are small, cramped, or old, even if they are cheap. Understanding this, to prepare for this academic year, I had to spend money to re-tile the rooms, install air conditioners, washing machines, and security cameras. Although I have to pay extra for these equipment each month, the students are willing to pay the extra. Currently, all 10 of my rooms are occupied, with rents ranging from 1.5 to 2 million VND per month."

In addition, some apartment buildings and mini-apartments in Vinh City are also a top choice for students, with rental prices ranging from 3 to 5 million VND. Groups of 3-4 students can share these apartments to reduce costs. These areas offer many advantages such as central location, cleanliness, guaranteed security, and complete living amenities.

For traditional, long-standing rental rooms, due to their declining appeal to tenants, some landlords have resorted to demolishing and rebuilding them into kiosks for business rentals, to avoid them remaining vacant for too long.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, at the end of the first registration period on the online system, 494,488 candidates confirmed their enrollment, accounting for 80.8% of the total number of candidates admitted in the first round. Thus, 117,795 candidates were admitted but did not confirm their enrollment in the first round. Previously, in 2022, the number of candidates confirming their enrollment in the first round on the system was 463,025 out of 567,419 admitted candidates (accounting for 81.6%).

Looking at the enrollment figures for 2022 and 2023, it shows that many candidates, even those on the list of admitted students, still chose not to enroll. Each year, there are approximately over 100,000 candidates who did not confirm their enrollment in the first round.

There are many reasons why candidates choose not to apply to university or refuse to confirm their admission, such as: changing future goals, studying abroad, vocational training, working overseas, starting work immediately, or wanting to enroll in another school through supplementary applications...