The Department of Construction has just submitted a document to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City reporting on the results of implementing tasks in 2024, the direction and tasks in 2025 regarding housing policy and the real estate market.
In 2024, the city approved an investment policy and selected an investor for one social housing development project. The investment has completed construction of a total of 610 apartments spanning 50,831 square meters. This includes 1 worker accommodation building with 368 apartments.
By the end of 2024, Ho Chi Minh City started construction of 4 projects, including three social housing developments and one worker accommodation project, totaling 2,874 apartments. These projects are expected to be finished in 2025. Additionally, the city has agreed to relocate 1,030 households from 20 dilapidated apartment buildings, facilitating the dismantling and redevelopment of these older, degraded structures.
Of the 16 dilapidated apartment buildings classified as Category D, relocation efforts have varied. Specifically, all 534 households in 9 out of the 16 buildings have been successfully relocated to new residences. In contrast, only a small portion of residents—150 out of 386 households—in 3 of the 16 buildings have been relocated, while no residents have been relocated from the remaining 4 buildings.
Additionally, for older apartment buildings not included in the designated 16 Category D buildings, the city has completed the relocation of the remaining 346 households across 8 buildings.
With respect to investment in new apartment construction, the city has not yet initiated the redevelopment of the 16 Grade D apartment buildings.
According to the Department of Construction, the real estate market in Ho Chi Minh City has shown signs of recovery, exhibiting a positive growth rate of 2.6 percent. However, the recovery remains slow and unstable, characterized by unpredictable fluctuations influenced by broader global economic trends. Additionally, the supply of real estate in the city has declined significantly in recent years, with a notable shortage of social housing projects to meet market demand.
In recent years, the real estate supply in Ho Chi Minh City has declined significantly, with a notable shortage of social housing projects to address market demand. Meanwhile, the supply of housing in high-end real estate developments remains excessive. Real estate businesses are encountering increasing challenges due to obstacles in investment procedures and inconsistencies in project-related legal frameworks.
The operations of real estate businesses are increasingly facing many difficulties due to obstacles in investment procedures, legal issues of the project have not been resolved synchronously and consistently among legal regulations, especially procedures for approval of investment policies, land allocation, and calculation of land use fees.
According to the Department of Construction of Ho Chi Minh City, despite policies aimed at easing credit restrictions, businesses continue to face significant challenges in accessing loan capital. Difficulties persist in securing corporate bonds and mobilizing funds from investment sources, including institutional and individual investors. Additionally, competition among investors—particularly in the high-end real estate segment—has intensified. While many projects have been restarted, they have yet to introduce new real estate products to the market, contributing to low liquidity.
Real estate prices continue to rise and remain high relative to the average income of residents, leading to an imbalance between price and value, as well as substantial regional price disparities. The risk of a real estate bubble remains a concern, necessitating close monitoring and regulatory measures to control the market. This situation further exacerbates the challenges for those who have demand to purchase a house.
