percent of Vietnam's total, and is unable to pay for the upkeep.
Hoan said his place was repainted just once in nine years.
Yet a flat remains the goal for middle-class people and migrants moving in from the countryside, with monthly rentals ranging between 600,000 dong and 2 million dong (US$38 to US$127).
"It's still a dream for many people to have," said the economist. Per capita income is US$400 a year in Vietnam.
Hoan's fifth-floor flat was sold for 400 million dong (US$25,445), a sum that takes 66 years for state employees on a monthly income of 1.5 million dong (US$95) to accumulate -- provided they can save 500,000 dong each month.
Speculation has been driving up prices on anything from old government-built flats to swanky condominiums.
The government has set an ambitious goal of raising the average living area to 15m2 per person by 2010, with different types of homes to match varying tastes.
As new condominiums are built to replace the old-fashioned flats, new owners vow to hang onto their extra space as long as their families grow.
But the economist said the tiger cage would only become extinct once security of flats was assured.
"The steel bars will still exist for protection," Hoan said. "There would still be a modified tiger cage."
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