Investment in residential property: taxonomy of home improvers in Central Hanoi

The advent of “Doi Moi” (renovation) in Vietnam has brought in a hitherto implicit residential property market. The dynamics of residential markets in Central Hanoi is a result of actions by groups trying to improve their properties following different investment strategies. A taxonomy of home improvers reveals three main types: the improver-consumerists, the improver-turned-dealers and the aspiring improvers. Their actions within the changing institutional framework is conceptualised in a dynamic model that could be a convenient tool for analysis of the residential property market.