Speaking at a seminar titled “Unlocking capital for a sustainable real estate market” on July 22, Dao Van Ha, deputy head of the Forecasting and Statistics Department at the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), said that for businesses to access capital more easily and for people to have the opportunity to buy homes at reasonable costs, coordination is needed between monetary and fiscal policies and policies regarding land, investment, construction, housing, and real estate market development.

According to Ha, SBV is focusing on three directions to help businesses and homebuyers take a more proactive approach to their medium- and long-term financial planning.

First, it will remain committed to maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation and keeping interest rates at reasonable levels.

“When inflation and exchange rates are well managed, the fluctuation range of floating interest rates will narrow, creating a highly predictable monetary environment. This serves as a vital foundation for businesses to calculate investment cash flows while helping homebuyers estimate long-term debt obligations and mitigate sudden financial pressures," Ha said.

Second, it will continue to direct capital flows into consumer-oriented and production-supporting real estate segments; and maintain special credit mechanisms for social housing, workers' housing, and industrial park real estate.

Concentrating capital in these areas ensures stable financing for segments with genuine demand, while steering market mindset from short-term speculation toward sustainable development and settlement.

Third, SBV requires credit institutions to enhance transparency, publicly disclosing lending interest rates and rules for rate adjustments after preferential periods, enabling borrowers to have full information for comparison before making loan decisions.

Ha argued that unlocking capital flows must go hand-in-hand with improving market transparency, perfecting legal frameworks, and resolving bottlenecks in investment, land, and construction. When these solutions are implemented, capital allocation efficiency will improve, supporting the market in developing sustainably.

Homebuyers expect interest rates below 9% 

Nguyen Quoc Anh, deputy general director of Batdongsan.com.vn, said that his unit's consumer behavior and sentiment survey for the first six months of the year revealed home loan demand remains high, with 84 percent of respondents prepared to take out loans.

However, the majority of buyers remain cautious. Up to 91 percent of those ready to borrow are only willing to borrow under 50 percent of the property's value. Even among respondents earning 30 million VND per month or more, most prefer monthly installment payments, including principal and interest, to account for only about 20-40 percent of their income.

Furthermore, 81 percent of surveyed individuals indicated they would take home loans if interest rates drop below 9 percent per year. According to Anh, this is a clear threshold that could serve as a catalyst driving market transactions. Conversely, when interest rates exceed 10 percent per year, amid high capital demand for investment and growth, people will exercise greater caution when making borrowing decisions.

Addressing questions about reforms that could be implemented early to shorten project timelines, reduce costs, and facilitate more affordable housing, Ha Quang Hung, deputy director of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Bureau (Ministry of Construction), said that many administrative procedures for social housing and rental housing projects have been streamlined, reducing intermediate steps and running concurrently.

In urban planning, regulatory agencies have eliminated the planning task approval step, performing only final planning approval, significantly shortening project preparation times.

Regarding the pricing for social housing, according to Hung, real estate developers previously had to submit prices to the Department of Construction for appraisal prior to sales, a process taking three to six months. Currently, developers are permitted to determine selling prices independently and undergo audits after project completion.

Moving forward, the Ministry will continue refining a suite of solutions concerning technical codes, standards, and design models. For housing projects receiving state support to lower costs, standardized design templates will be applied to waive construction permit procedures while promoting modular component manufacturing in factories and on-site assembly, thereby shortening construction schedules.

In addition, Hung proposed digitizing the entire process for verifying policy beneficiaries, social housing purchasing procedures, and long-term rental housing management. Harnessing population databases and existing databases will accelerate information verification, reduce paperwork submitted by citizens, shorten processing times, and enhance transparency throughout the approval process.

Nguyen Le