The outside of the Terra An Hưng - Hà Đông project in late April, one of the 22 commerical housing projects which foreign buyers are allowed to purchase. Photo theterraanhung.com.vn

 HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội Department of Construction has listed 22 commercial housing projects, some complete and some under construction, where foreigners can own homes.

They include four projects in Hà Đông District, like the Văn Phú Invest’s Terra An Hưng project, Military Petrochemical Joint Stock Company’s housing project in Kiến Hưng Ward and Capitaland - Hoàng Thành apartment, commercial and service complex.

Long Biên District has three projects, including a high-end apartment building in the Sài Đồng New Urban Area and the Plaschem apartment, commercial and office complex.

Thanh Xuân District has two projects, the Stellar Garden Apartment Complex and Nguyễn Tuân DLC Complex Project.

Hoàng Mai District has the Rose Tower project, while Hoài Đức District has two projects in Nam An Khánh urban area.

In addition, there are other projects in Nam Từ Liêm, Cầu Giấy, Ba Đình, Bắc Từ Liêm and Gia Lâm districts, such as the Hà Nội Paragon Project in Cầu Giấy and an office, commercial and residential complex in Ba Đình, reported the Kinh tế đô thị (Urban Economy) newspaper.

From November 2019 until May 2020, the capital city also listed 26 other commercial housing projects where foreigners can buy homes.

Currently, foreigners in Việt Nam can own up to 30 per cent of apartments in some projects, but demand has far exceeded this level.

Therefore, the Việt Nam Real Estate Brokers Association has proposed the Government consider increasing the foreign ownership cap in high-end apartment projects

Trần Minh Hoàng, Deputy General Secretary of Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, told zingnews.vn that foreigners’ demand for real estate in Việt Nam is increasing, especially for high-end apartments and resorts.

Foreigners with large amounts of capital are not really interested in middle-class and affordable products like Vietnamese people, according to Hoàng. Therefore, they will not compete with local people in the apartment market as products targeting the two groups of customers are different.

Việt Nam is an attractive destination for foreigners due to its favourable geographical position and great potential for tourism development, while real estate is competitively priced and profitable.

For instance, according to Savills Việt Nam, the price of new houses in HCM City averages US$5,500 - 6,500 per sq.m. Overall, apartment prices in both HCM City and Hà Nội are still lower than regional markets such as Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

The State should increase the foreign ownership caps in apartment projects to attract capital, increase market transparency and stimulate socio-economic development, Hoàng said.

He also said this proposal should not be considered a short-term solution to restore the property market in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era but should be a long-term solution.

This would increase liquidity and reduce inventories in the market, said Nguyễn Khánh Duy,  director of HCM City Residential Sales, Savills Vietnam. However, the State must consider carefully because it can affect Vietnamese people’s market shares, he cautioned. — VNS