Prime Minister calls for investigation into soaring apartment prices

Minister Pham Minh Chinh took charge of the Central Steering Committee’s initial gathering on Housing Policy and the Real Estate Market to scrutinize the industry’s progress throughout the first nine months of the year. The digital meeting connected with 34 provinces and cities, shaping the path forward until the year’s end.
Real estate plays a pivotal role in propelling the Vietnamese economy and urban development, injecting funds into construction, finance, materials, and services. Social housing has been a focal point since the government’s tenure began, aligning with the Party’s commitment to ensuring every Vietnamese citizen has a place to call home for growth and stability. This goal necessitates a surge in supply and a reshaping of real estate offerings, emphasizing affordable choices for households with lower to middle incomes. Acknowledging the lag in meeting set targets for both social housing and the general property market, PM Chinh urged a direct confrontation of these obstacles to enhance urban living standards.
The Prime Minister pushed for policies that increase supply and regulate demand through market mechanisms, while identifying institutional and policy restrictions hindering progress. He charged the committee with dissecting underlying causes, gleaning insights, and devising innovative solutions to catalyze advances in housing and property policies until 2026.
Throughout the first nine months of the year, Vietnam logged over 1,000 commercial housing projects, 960 of which were in progress, encompassing nearly 149,000 apartments and over 249,000 detached houses. Concerning social housing, 692 projects are in the works, expected to yield over 633,000 units in total. Of these, 165 projects offering over 110,000 units have been completed, achieving 59.6% of the 2025 target. Furthermore, more than 334,000 dilapidated or transitional homes have undergone refurbishment nationwide. Real estate transactions held steady at 430,000 deals from the previous year’s figures, indicating a market on the path to recovery with uneven traction. While condominium sales saw a slight increase in major urban areas, particularly within the mid-range segment, land plot exchanges decelerated.
By July 31, property sector loans surged past 4 quadrillion VND (153.8 billion USD), marking a 17% increase from late 2024 and constituting 23.68% of total credit in the economy. The government’s Resolution 02/NQ-CP’s 30 trillion VND stimulus package attracted 17 commercial banks, with outstanding loans surpassing 2.3 trillion VND. Loans administered under Decree 100/2024/ND-CP exceeded 19 trillion VND, while funding for social and worker housing, as well as revamping old apartment complexes under Resolution 33/NQ-CP, gained momentum.