Prime Minister: Restructure Segments in the Real Estate Market

This viewpoint was expressed by Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính in his concluding remarks at an online conference on August 3, which assessed the implementation of Resolution No. 33 and proposed solutions to difficulties facing the real estate market.

After a period of stagnation, especially in large-scale projects, Vietnam’s real estate market has shown some signs of recovery thanks to the government’s intervention and support from ministries and local authorities. However, the market has not yet fully "thawed."

At the second conference within six months focusing on real estate solutions, the Prime Minister asked regulatory bodies to continue reviewing the legal framework, identifying specific bottlenecks—what documents, what issues, who is responsible, and how long it will take to resolve them.

He also emphasized the need to accelerate the establishment of real estate trading platforms to increase market self-regulation and reduce administrative intervention. At the same time, ministries and localities were urged to expedite planning at sectoral, regional, and sub-regional levels.

With the market currently weak—lacking both supply and demand—the Prime Minister called for proactive and flexible monetary policies and reasonable fiscal measures such as tax and fee reductions or deferrals.

In addition, he stressed the need to restructure market segments, giving priority to social housing, worker housing, and housing for middle-income earners. The current imbalance in real estate segments has made it difficult for people with real housing needs to access homes. He compared supportive policies to oxygen and nutrients for businesses.

"Government agencies must take responsibility and create a legal foundation and framework that encourages officials and civil servants to think boldly and act for the public interest," the Prime Minister said.

At the conference, many real estate companies continued to call for solutions to legal obstacles and more favorable lending conditions to help the market emerge from its "hibernation."

Mr. Bùi Thành Nhơn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Novaland Group, stated that Resolution 33 serves as "precious oxygen" that helps prevent business instability. For Novaland's projects, he noted that solutions are being implemented with local government support, but he also hoped for even faster legal clearance nationwide.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyễn Đình Trung, Chairman and CEO of Hưng Thịnh Group, said that the procedures for obtaining construction permits remain inadequate due to various reasons. He urged authorities to offer more support.

He emphasized that getting a project to the construction permit stage creates jobs and stimulates demand across hundreds of supporting industries.

Mr. Lê Tự Minh, Chairman of IMG Investment Corporation, agreed that the biggest challenge for real estate firms right now is legal procedures, not banking issues.

“There’s overlap in the legal system—one issue, one regulation, but multiple interpretations. Local authorities often either don’t enforce them or are reluctant to act. In many places, informal rules dominate, and doing nothing is considered safe, making it extremely difficult for businesses,” he said.

Mr. Bùi Thành Nhơn of Novaland also recommended avoiding criminalization of economic activities through the issuance of legal documents. "Private businesses' property rights and the legal rights of entrepreneurs must be protected under the law," he emphasized.


Businesses Raise Concerns Over Bank Loan Access

Another major difficulty raised by businesses is access to bank loans. Currently, medium-term lending interest rates remain quite high, so according to Mr. Lê Tự Minh, Chairman of IMG Investment Corporation, businesses are reluctant and unwilling to borrow. Although recent interest rate cuts by the banking sector were timely, he said, "interest rate increases should be time-bound and quantified."

He suggested that banks should work to lower medium-term interest rates to around 8.5% per year, so that businesses can afford to borrow and repay their loans.

Businesses also proposed special support policies for entities directly developing transport and social infrastructure in projects located in difficult regions, and for enterprises applying high technology and developing green urban areas to help reduce emissions.

In response to these proposals, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính instructed the State Bank of Vietnam to review real estate credit lending and propose solutions to help both projects and homebuyers access credit.

He urged commercial banks to support businesses and citizens, lower lending rates, and simplify loan procedures, emphasizing the principle of "harmonizing benefits and sharing risks."

The State Bank, in coordination with the Ministry of Construction and localities, was also asked to speed up disbursement of the 120 trillion VND (approx. $5 billion USD) preferential credit package aimed at developing social housing, worker housing, and renovating old apartment buildings.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment was assigned to guide localities in planning and removing bottlenecks in real estate project investment, particularly for social housing, in order to increase housing supply.

The Ministry of Finance was tasked with reviewing and implementing measures to develop the corporate bond market, studying the establishment of a social housing development fund for workers, and enhancing public-private partnerships in social housing development. View more