Speaking at a National Assembly discussion on socio-economic issues on April 21, deputy Le Hoang Anh from Gia Lai highlighted the alarming reality.

“At this level, even if young people work tirelessly for 30 years, they still cannot afford a home comparable to someone who inherits land,” he said, stressing that this is not only an economic issue but also a long-term political and social concern.

According to him, the root cause lies in the prolonged misallocation of credit. Private investment in Vietnam depends heavily on bank lending, accounting for about 80%, while high interest rates mean only high-profit sectors or speculative activities can absorb the cost.

As a result, a significant portion of credit has flowed into speculative real estate, pushing up housing prices in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Data from 35 commercial banks, provided by the National Assembly Library, shows that real estate credit surged by 132% over four years, from VND1,955,000 billion (US$78 billion) in 2021 to VND4,541,000 billion (US$182 billion) in 2025 - 2.4 times faster than industrial credit growth.

Notably, real estate credit in 2025 was 1.81 times larger than industrial credit and 5.3 times higher than that of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Real estate and construction together accounted for 27.4% of total credit in the system.

Between 2024 and 2025 alone, real estate credit jumped by 37.6%, while industrial credit rose by just 9.4%.

Le Hoang Anh proposed that the Government use market-based tools, rather than administrative orders, to control speculative real estate credit.

He suggested differentiated reserve requirements by sector to redirect capital toward production and technology, along with land-use fees based on economic efficiency and project implementation progress.

Significantly, he proposed including provisions in the Capital Law and Special Urban Law requiring projects delayed beyond 24 months to face progressively increasing fees, while second homes left unused or not rented out should be subject to higher progressive charges.

Revenue from these policies, he said, should be directed to social housing funds, the renovation of old apartment buildings, and essential urban infrastructure.

“These are solutions to curb speculation and create space for real growth,” he noted.

At the same session, deputy Nguyen Hai Nam from Hue emphasized that achieving a 10% economic growth target requires improving investment efficiency. Vietnam’s ICOR, a measure of investment efficiency, currently stands at around 6.4.

He noted that reducing ICOR to 4.5 would require total investment of about 40% of GDP, equivalent to more than US$200 billion.

Vietnam’s economy remains heavily reliant on bank credit, with a ratio of about 145% of GDP - significantly higher than countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, where the figure is around 110%. This raises concerns about bad debt and financial system stability.

To address this, Nguyen Hai Nam proposed developing capital markets more strongly, particularly bonds and equities, to ease the burden on the banking system.

He outlined five key solutions: improving the legal framework for bonds, enhancing transparency and credit ratings, developing investor and financial intermediary systems, promoting new products such as green bonds, and improving secondary market operations to boost liquidity.

He also suggested issuing local government bonds in major cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Quang Ninh to mobilize resources for infrastructure development.

According to him, a well-developed capital market would reduce pressure on banks while providing a sustainable financial foundation for high economic growth in the coming years.

Thanh Hue