Nine years ago this July, I wrote about a parcel of land located a short walk from our (then) new office and Hoan Kiem Lake in downtown Hanoi. After much haggling and some conflict, someone bought a small (53 m2/602 ft2) French colonial era building for $2.3 million. I wrote, “Where this charming Hanoi house once stood is now a pile of rubble.”

Nine years later, it still is. Charm was replaced with a very expensive parking lot and a now an aging fence that advertises properties at another location. Compare the “before” and “after” photos. (Given the astronomical increase in real estate prices in the intervening years, $2.3 million seems like a bargain.) I’m not sure what the stumbling block is other than the fact that maybe the owner is overextended.

Shalom (שלום), MAA