Key takeaways

Establishment of real estate transaction centers

The Draft Resolution proposes to establish state-run real estate transaction centers to improve transparency of the real estate market through providing reliable databases on property supply, prices and taxes. This policy also aims to strengthen the connectivity between different agencies and organizations participating in organizing, implementing and supervising real estate transactions.

According to the Draft Resolution, these real estate transaction centers would be established locally under the city/provincial level people’s committees and would be given certain powers to appraise real estate projects, verify real estate contracts and even issue certificates for land use rights. An aspect of this scheme (and a challenge) is the setup and consolidation of online databases on housing, land taxes and encumbrances.

More details are expected to be included in a regulation (e.g., new decree) issued by the government.

Credit tightening: stricter lending policies for home buyers

Once the Draft Resolution is signed, all credit institutions in Vietnam would have to apply the following new loan-to-value limits for residential property purchases (we note that this policy excludes social housing but still includes the category of “affordable housing projects” discussed in the next section):

• Loans to purchase second residential properties: maximum of 50% of the contract value.
• Loans to purchase third residential properties and beyond: maximum of 30% of the contract value.

These measures appear stricter than current banking practices (typically 70% of the contract value) and aim to curb speculative buying and property hoarding.

“Affordable commercial housing”: a new category of residential product?

The Draft Resolution does not provide a definition of “affordable commercial housing,” which may be understood as a new category of residential product not previously provided under current regulations (i.e., a mix between “social housing” and regular “commercial housing”).

The Draft Resolution requires the people’s committees of provinces and municipalities to allocate at least 20% of new commercial housing projects to so-called “affordable housing projects” (dự án nhà ở thương mại giá phù hợp in Vietnamese) during 2026-2030, based on local conditions.

Developers of these “affordable housing projects” would be subject to investment procedures comparable to social housing (i.e., capped profit margins and simplified land pricing mechanisms), specifically as follows:¹

• Investment and land procedures for social housing projects would apply to select investors without going through land auctions or project tendering (i.e., developers may apply to the local people’s committees for the investment policy and investor selection approval).²
• Payable land use fees or land rent to the state would be determined based on the land price tables and applicable land price adjustment coefficient (as promulgated by the city/provincial people’s committee).
• Profit margins would be capped at 20% of the total project construction investment capital (including land use fees and land rental costs of the project).

Based on market intelligence, a 20% profit margin would be acceptable and attractive if the administrative procedures for these affordable housing projects are streamlined to keep the project cycle/capital flow at two to three years. Without a breakthrough in administrative procedure reform, the policy risks remaining theoretical, because investors may hesitate to trade profits for legal uncertainty.

Mirroring social housing policies, buyers in “affordable housing projects” will not be allowed to transfer their sale and purchase or lease purchase contracts. Additionally, developers will also be subject to purchase and rent control mechanisms under social housing regulations (e.g., subject to review and comments from the local construction authority).³

Approved commercial residential projects (before the effective date of the Draft Resolution) may be converted to affordable housing projects, if their investment policy approvals are amended.

What’s next?

Various authorities, including the MOC, Ministry of Finance, State Bank of Vietnam, provincial people’s committees and other ministries, are expected to issue official guidance and implement the Draft Resolution, which will take effective from the signing date until 1 March 2027.

In particular, city/provincial people’s committees would be required to: (i) inspect and monitor housing projects for signs of irregular price increases; and (ii) publish a database of “affordable housing projects.”⁴

1 Articles 4(a), (b) and (c) of the Draft Resolution.

2 See Article 7 of Decree No. 192/2025/ND-CP.

3 Article 4(d) of the Draft Resolution and Article 13 of Decree No. 192/2025/ND-CP.

4 Article 5.4 of the Draft Resolution.