After a prolonged period of rapid price growth, Ho Chi Minh City's real estate market is showing signs of cooling across most segments, including apartments, townhouses, and residential land. Many investors are accepting losses due to falling prices and rising borrowing costs, yet still struggle to find buyers.
Sellers cut prices but buyers stay away
In recent months, the city's property market has undergone a noticeable shift. While housing prices climbed steadily throughout 2024 and 2025, many segments have now begun to decline. However, lower prices have not translated into stronger demand, with transaction volumes remaining subdued. Observations at several real estate agencies indicate that market activity is far less vibrant than before.
A woman in Thu Duc Ward said that she took out a bank loan in 2023 to purchase a 54-square-meter apartment in the Vinhomes Grand Park urban area for VND3.8 billion (US$152,000). The apartment is currently rented out for VND6 million per month. As market conditions weakened and she decided to sell, she listed the property for VND3.4 billion, representing a loss of more than VND400 million after accounting for related expenses.
Similarly, another woman, who lives in Phu Nhuan Ward, owns a two-bedroom apartment of more than 70 square meters at the Kingston apartment complex on Nguyen Van Troi Street in Phu Nhuan Ward. She purchased the apartment for VND7.5 billion at the end of 2024, intending to live there, but decided to sell after being transferred for work. Despite reducing the asking price twice to VND7.2 billion, she has yet to find a buyer.
The residential land segment is facing similar difficulties. Nguyen Van Hung, a resident of Long Truong Ward, said he borrowed VND3 billion from a bank in 2024 to buy a 100-square-meter land plot in Long Truong Ward for VND4.5 billion. After a year of loan repayments, with monthly interest expenses averaging VND30 million, he has put the property up for sale at a loss but has received no inquiries.
Over the past three months, property prices in suburban areas such as Vung Tau Ward, Tam Thang Ward, and Phuoc Thang Ward have also trended downward. Many properties have remained on the market for months without finding buyers. Some owners in urgent need of cash have cut asking prices by VND300 million to VND500 million, while others have reduced prices by as much as VND1 billion to complete a sale.
Housing market correction deepens
Nguyen Van Cuong, owner of a real estate brokerage in Phu My Ward, said potential buyers remain hesitant because mortgage interest rates are high, while paying the full purchase price upfront is beyond the financial capacity of many households. The weak market has prompted numerous real estate brokers to leave the industry. He said many believe land prices are gradually returning to their intrinsic value.
Transaction volumes have also declined sharply. Statistics from the Land Registration Office’s Branch No. 3 show that the number of land-related applications received and processed in the second quarter of 2026 fell across several areas compared with the previous quarter.
In the Vung Tau Ward area, the office processed 1,533 land applications in the first quarter of 2026. That number declined to 1,314 in the second quarter, a decrease of 219 applications. At Branch No. 32 of the Ho Chi Minh City Land Registration Office, the number of applications processed fell from 1,245 in the first quarter to 1,133 in the second quarter, a decline of 112 applications.
On the supply side, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction said 96 housing projects, totaling 95,415 homes, are currently under development across the city. During the first quarter of 2026, two projects comprising 1,502 apartments were completed.
In the first five months of 2026, the city appraised feasibility studies for 20 commercial housing projects that are exempt from construction permit requirements. Another 20 commercial housing projects, totaling 16,328 homes, were approved to raise capital through the sale of future housing units.
Dang Hung Vo, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said declining housing prices are a natural market correction because many properties were initially offered at prices well beyond the average income of residents. He noted that many of those properties were first purchased by speculators, driving prices even higher and pushing them far beyond actual demand.
When the number of sellers exceeds the number of buyers, he said, sellers are forced to reduce prices in order to complete transactions. The current decline, therefore, represents a necessary adjustment that is bringing the market closer to its real value. He added that the market is also undergoing a period of consolidation, with buyers increasingly prioritizing properties that offer genuine utility and sustainable long-term value.
Director Tran Quang Lam of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction said the city plans to begin construction on another 90 projects between the third and fourth quarters of 2026, providing around 90,000 apartments, social housing units, and rental homes.
He added that the draft Special Urban Law is being finalized with numerous new policy mechanisms. Of its 45 articles, 26 relate to the construction sector and focus on shortening administrative procedures, accelerating urgent infrastructure projects, and expanding policies for social housing and rental housing.
According to Director Tran Quang Lam, these breakthrough policies will be incorporated into specific regulations, creating a stronger foundation for Ho Chi Minh City's development while improving residents' access to housing and enhancing overall living standards.
