Where is your home in Saigon? Many expatriates are so lucky when they first came to Saigon and their companies arrange every single matter which includes finding a safe and comfortable place to stay. But, quite a number of people are struggling with real estate agents, heavy traffic and facing difficulties with their taxi drivers during house hunting. While you are still at your home country, it will be great if you can spend some time to start online networking and get to know the local expatriates in Vietnam about how they cope with housing stress. You also may seek recommendations about which real estate agency will serve you better and get a basic picture or places to stay in your chosen city. No matter if you come alone or with family, it’s all about your budget and accessibility as you will get according to what you pay.

Room

There are various type of rooms for rent with different class of services and facilities. Some owners provide in-house services such as daily housekeeping, linen changing, ironing & laundry and even cooking your meals on request. Normally the room will consists of a queen size bed, wardrobe, small size of TV; you are lucky to have a flat screen plasma TV, study table, mini fridge, attached bathroom with hot water and high speed internet connection. Normally there will be no kitchen attached with the room. While checking rooms for rent, you may check with them if there is any shared kitchen for you to cook in or a washing machine to be shared with other tenants. The monthly rental for a room without service normally is in between USD 150 up to USD 200 and serviced room will starts from USD 300 up to USD 450.

House

The rental for townhouses which is located on main roads will be more expensive than the one in an alleyway. Most of houses in Saigon will come with average 5 meter to 7 meter wide and 8 meter to 12 meter length with 1 or 2 rooms each floor. Ground floor is usually the place to park a motorbike, a kitchen and a small living area, 1st floor will comprises 1 bedroom or entertainment room, while 2nd floor will comprises bedrooms and a rooftop floor which can be used to place a water tank and to dry your laundry. Some houses do have a nice rooftop area which you can do barbeque and inhaling fresh air at night. The rental will be between USD 700 up to USD 1700 monthly subjected to type of furniture, location and facilities included. It will be great if you can do a house visit at different periods of time to experience the surrounding environment. Some houses may be very noisy with dog sounds which will disturb your sleep on every weekend, heavy traffic during peak hours or after school time and maybe have risk of speed flood especially during raining season and river high tide.

Apartment

Living in an apartment is the best choice for those with no experience staying in Vietnam. Management office of your apartment will manage everything such as calculating your utility fees, maintenance fees and other related services. All you need to do is to ensure you pay all your monthly bills. There are many apartments available at expatriate choice areas. Sky Garden at Phu My Hung, Saigon Pearl and The Manor in Binh Thanh District is a premium selection with monthly rentals starting from USD 1500 up to USD 2800 for a fully furnished apartment. However, if you are looking for something more economical, numbers of Hoang AnhGia Lai’s developments will come with price between USD 450 up to USD 500 and Central Garden Apartments at Ben Chuong Duong Street will cost between USD 700 to USD 1000 for 2 and 3 bedroom fully furnished apartments.

Penthouses

Penthouses in Saigon may not as magnificent as in Singapore or in the US and this type of property is still less popular in town with very limited supply. The price for a penthouse in Saigon will be in between USD 3000 up to USD 5000 monthly. All penthouses are located at highest floor of grade A apartment with a size between 200 sqm to 300 sqm for each floor. With natural light and spacious area, living in a penthouse is very promising for expatriate’s family for high standard of living.

Villa

Big houses or villas are very suitable for people who have a big family or looking for more privacy. District 2 has many types of villas in many compounds with size between 200 sqm up to 600 sqm. Villas or some called it as bungalows will consist of 3 or 4 bedrooms, open kitchen, living areas and some have a swimming pool. If you like gardening, you may choose a villa with yard and you can grow your own plants. You are expected to pay between USD 2000 up to USD 5000 monthly for a standard type of residence and the price can be up more than USD 15 000 per month if the owner provides imported quality of furniture and the house area is magnificent.