Social housing apartment blocks in Hà Nội. The market has high demand for social housing. — VNA/VNS Photo

Compiled by Hoàng Hà

Việt Nam's housing market is on the way to recovery and is set to flourish this year, according to many experts.

Nguyễn Quốc Anh, deputy general director of PropertyGuru Vietnam, said that the housing market has overcome the most difficult period.

"From the beginning of 2024 until now, the housing market has seen liquidity from new projects and secondary projects," he said.

Interest in real estate has increased sharply, and confidence in the market has improved. From the second quarter of 2025, the market will probably enter a period of prosperity. 

"At present, the housing market is entering a new cycle. New laws relating to the property market will promote this market recovery soon," Quốc Anh said.

Võ Huỳnh Tấn Kiệt, director of CBRE Vietnam's Housing Marketing Department, also predicted that 2025 will be the first year of a new development cycle. However, the market still needs more time to return to a more vibrant period like in 2018 and 2019.

Ph.D Cấn Văn Lực, an economic expert, agreed that the real estate market has gone through the most difficult period. The market has recently received support from factors like economic growth, macro-economic stability, legal frameworks, planning, supply and demand.

Of these, the most important factor is the legal framework, which has gradually resolved regulatory issues. Many laws relating to the real estate market are coming into effect, while many decrees and policies have also been put into place.

Real estate companies have also gradually overcome financial difficulties, and are now seeing many opportunities to access loans. This has positively affected companies' recovery.

Nguyễn Quang Huy, head of the Faculty of Finance and Banking at Nguyễn Trãi University, said that the real estate market has seen a recovery mainly in the mid- and high-end segments thanks to support from preferential credit policies and improvements in customer confidence.

However, affordable and social housing products are still in short supply. These products are not meeting the high demand due to legal barriers and low profits, which make enterprises reluctant to invest.

Huy predicts housing products with values of under VNĐ5 billion will attract buyers. 

"This year, the market begins to enter a new growth cycle, but development will depend on the maintenance of support policies and the improvement in the supply of key segments," Huy stated.

This year, the market will likely be supported by a strong increase in remittances. In addition, more transparent regulations are expected to promote housing transactions.

However, the market still faces pressure from restructuring real estate enterprises' bond debt. In particular, real estate prices have remained high compared to average incomes, requiring long-term solutions to increase purchasing power.

Giang Anh Tuấn, director of Tuấn Anh Real Estate, said real estate prices this year are not likely to decrease because real housing demand is increasing, especially in Hà Nội and HCM City. 

Meanwhile, after a period of stagnation, investment has begun to recover, especially for townhouses and villas and land with good infrastructure and utilities.

Homebuyers will continue to favour projects from reputable investors with clear legal status, pink books, after-sales services, strategic locations and infrastructure development.

Experts say the housing supply will likely improve this year, but not significantly compared to demand.

Apartments in Hà Nội were one of the segments seeing the most rapid increase in prices in 2024. Nguyễn Hoài An, director of CBRE Hanoi, said that the apartment market in Hà Nội is gradually helping to solve the shortage in housing supply. The apartment prices are not likely to decrease, but the rate of increase is expected to taper off from the sharp increases in recent months.

According to An, real estate prices typically decrease when the market has excess supply, which can also cause major fluctuations in economic growth and the financial market.

Việt Nam is currently seeing steady economic growth. Interest rates, inflation and exchange rates are all controlled at reasonable levels. Meanwhile, the housing market still has a shortage in supply and imbalance between segments. In the short term, therefore, real estate prices are unlikely to decrease.

"In 2025, Hà Nội apartment prices will not decrease, but they will not increase as rapidly as they have recently, possibly only increasing by 5 to 8 per cent compared to 2024," said An, adding that the supply of new apartments in the capital city could reach over 30,000 units.

A view of HCM City. The city has developed its infrastructure while building new properties. — VNA/VNS Photo

As for developing a healthy housing market, the Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and other relevant ministries and branches to look into building the Real Estate and Land Use Rights Transaction Centre.

The centre will focus on developing electronic transactions to improve efficiency and enhance the transparency of real estate transactions. It is expected to limit virtual price fever and fraud and tax evasion in real estate transactions.

The project is attracting the attention of investors. Relevant ministries and branches are required to report to the Prime Minister on the project in the second quarter of 2025.

Under the current plan, the centre will provide those looking for property with access to suitable products, and will also provide investors with good business opportunities.

First, however, the centre's development needs to be carefully researched to ensure feasibility. — VNS