At the seminar "Vietnam real estate market: identifying key problems and solutions" held on October 16, Can Van Luc, chief economist at BIDV and member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, stated that soaring property prices are making it increasingly difficult for people to access housing.

He identified several core reasons behind the continued rise in housing prices, including legal bottlenecks and the fear of taking responsibility, limiting supply; rising input costs; supply-demand imbalance; price manipulation and speculation that inflate real estate values beyond their actual worth; and widespread hoarding behavior.

Economist Nguyen Minh Phong has warned that the rapid expansion of credit and corporate bonds carries significant risks, as outstanding debts and repayment pressures have surged. Without effective control, the accumulation of new loans on top of unresolved old debts could pose serious financial threats.

Although real estate supply is increasing, most new properties remain unaffordable for low- and middle-income buyers. This suggests growing speculation and short-term ‘surfing investment’, raising concerns about a potential market bubble.

According to Phong, another major risk is a sudden market-wide price drop when large amounts of debt come due, especially as mortgaged assets increase in volume.

"If gold and real estate prices continue rising parallel, the risk of both 'bursting' in future is entirely possible," the expert warned.

He added that numerous projects are being suspended due to pending planning decisions following administrative mergers, a general reluctance to take responsibility, and the strong growth of digital assets and online gold trading, all of which pose challenges to the real estate sector.

At the seminar "Vietnam real estate market: identifying key problems and solutions" held on October 16, Can Van Luc, chief economist at BIDV and member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, stated that soaring property prices are making it increasingly difficult for people to access housing.

The key to lowering prices

Vuong Duy Dung, deputy director of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department (Ministry of Construction), said that the real estate market is gradually recovering, with many positive signals since the beginning of the year. Specifically, the number of newly approved projects has been rising. Many previously stalled projects have been resolved thanks to directives from the Government’s Special Task Force, thus helping increase supply.

At the same time, investor and consumer confidence has improved, reflected in increased transaction volumes and market liquidity. Credit, bond, and FDI capital flows into real estate are also showing stable and positive trends.

Dung said the Government and the Prime Minister are particularly concerned about two key issues: excessively high housing prices and supply-demand imbalances. To tackle high prices, it’s necessary to look at the real cost structure of real estate and assess it accurately.

According to Dung, housing prices depend on several cost components: land use fees, construction costs, infrastructure investment, loan interest, and sales expenses. Among them, capital costs account for a large share, and the longer a project takes to complete, the higher these costs become.

Therefore, one of the most crucial solutions is to reduce input costs. This requires continued streamlining and simplification of administrative procedures in construction and investment, as well as shortening project timelines to lower capital costs and compliance burdens for developers.

“Only when input costs are reduced can real estate prices truly cool down,” Dung emphasized.

He also called for adjusting the supply-demand structure, focusing on developing reasonably priced housing segments, especially social housing, to meet real demand. The Prime Minister has tasked the Ministry of Construction with studying breakthrough policies for social housing development for the 2026–2030 period, aiming to increase supply, stabilize the market, and ensure sustainable growth.

“Alongside increasing the supply of reasonably priced commercial housing, when supply rises, the market will gradually rebalance, helping to reduce housing prices,” Dung affirmed.

Meanwhile, Luc recommended that the State continue improving the legal framework for land, construction, and real estate, particularly by issuing resolutions to remove obstacles in implementing the 2024 Land Law, the Law on Real Estate Business, and the 2023 Housing Law. He also suggested practical measures to stabilize and lower property prices, including allowing the conversion of unused government buildings into social and public service housing.

Duy Anh