Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 16 urged the plan on building at least 1 million social housing units for low-income earners and industrial workers in the 2021 - 2030 period to be implemented quickly and effectively.

The real estate market showed signs of warming up with social housing projects on sale last week.

Cities and provinces across the country are focusing on social housing development as part of a national strategy to meet the growing needs of their residents.

Disbursement of VND120,000 billion (US$ 4,877,708,416) preferential credit package for social housing development is still slow.

Vietnam is striving to build 130,000 apartments for low-income earners and workers in industrial parks this year in line with a Government Resolution issued in January 2024, said the Ministry of Construction.

Vietnam expects to have 108 social housing projects with over 47,500 apartments completed in 2024, according to the Ministry of Construction.

HCMC finds it extremely challenging to achieve its social housing target for the 2021-2025 period, with only 3.3% of the projects completed to date, well below the goal set by the Prime Minister.

Limited social housing supply, inappropriate loan terms and stringent requirements for borrowers are making disbursement of the VNĐ120 trillion (US$4.9 billion) credit package for social housing slow, according to insiders.

Many workers have been working here for more than 10 years, but owning an apartment in the social housing project remains a difficult and distant thing for the majority of labourers.

Many offers to sell property with attractive discounts of up to hundreds of millions of dong still exist, but houses remain very expensive.

Many experts on the property market proposed cutting interest rates of loans for investing or buying social housing products to 4.5-6% per year from 8.2-8.7% at present.

The Ministry of Construction will have loose regulations so that more low-income earners are eligible for buying social housing.

10 provinces have sent lists of projects for access to a VND120 trillion housing credit package, heard an online conference on reviewing a resolution to remove difficulties for the development of the real estate market chaired by PM Pham Minh Chinh.

Cocobay Da Nang, the super project in Da Nang, and a multi-billion dong golf course in Bac Giang were the leading news items last week.

Credit institutions are ready to provide loans with preferential rates from the VND120 trillion (US$5.07 billion) package.

A survey conducted by the VN General Confederation of Labour revealed that 60 per cent of workers currently rent homes outside industrial zones, with their monthly rental costs accounting for 30 per cent of their total income.

A high number of luxury properties in Hanoi have been put for sale amid an otherwise gloomy real estate market with very few transactions.

Predictions about real estate firms remain worrisome. Twenty-three businesses will not be able to maintain operation until the end of the third quarter and only 43 percent will exist by the end of the year unless conditions approve.

The demand for social housing will be eased as many projects are about to be launched on the market. The average housing price in HCM City is 32 times higher than the average income of Vietnamese.