The selling price of Hanoi apartments on the secondary market tends to be stable, in some places it has decreased slightly by 100-200 million VND/apartment compared to the end of 2024. (Illustration photo)

No later than April, there must be preferential policies for buying social housing.

Speaking at the conclusion of the national online conference on removing difficulties and obstacles and promoting the development of social housing held on the afternoon of March 6, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh frankly acknowledged that compared to requirements and expectations, the construction of social housing has not been achieved.

According to the Prime Minister, 655 social housing projects have been implemented nationwide, with a scale of more than 593,000 units. However, many localities have had slower implementation results compared to the plan registered in the project "Investing in the construction of at least 1 million social housing units for low-income people and industrial park workers in the 2021-2030 period".

In addition, the disbursement of preferential credit capital of 120,000 billion VND for social housing is still slow and difficult. There are still obstacles and difficulties for social housing investment enterprises in accessing land, construction investment procedures, contractor appointment, credit, preferential policies, etc.

From the above reality, to achieve the project's goals, the Prime Minister pointed out 10 groups of tasks and solutions for ministries, branches and localities.

In terms of institutions, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Construction to preside over and review institutions, processes, and procedures to determine where the problems are, who will resolve them, how long it will take, when the results will be available, "clearly identify the people, the work, the progress, the responsibilities, and the products". In laws, decrees, and circulars, which agencies must amend and propose to the Government and submit to the National Assembly?

Emphasizing the need for preferential policies, the Prime Minister requested that this must be submitted in March, and at the latest in April.

The Ministry of Construction was also assigned to review standards, regulations, and norms related to social housing (such as height, construction materials, etc.). The Prime Minister directed that it is necessary to design suitable models so that mass production can be studied and prefabricated structures can be used for quick construction.

Along with that, the Ministry of Construction assigned the Vietnam Association of Architects to organize a social housing architectural design competition, with prizes from the state budget, to be implemented before April 30. The research was assigned to large enterprises to implement, contributing to the development of industries serving social housing such as the production of steel and concrete components...

For localities, the Prime Minister requested that social housing planning must be planned and adjusted appropriately, and completed by the second quarter at the latest. If there are any problems, proposals must be made.

Regarding infrastructure, localities must develop infrastructure synchronously to meet requirements, and if necessary, public investment. It is possible to assign synchronous contracts between social housing and infrastructure projects. It is important to prevent corruption, negativity, and waste.

Apartment prices slightly decreased

According to information on Vietnamnet, a 67m2 apartment with 2 bedrooms at the HH Linh Dam project, selling price 2.67 billion VND, including transfer fee, this price has decreased by about 80 million VND. Or a 56m2 apartment, selling price is 2.42 billion VND. With this apartment, the owner has reduced 100 million VND compared to the previous price.

The selling price of Hanoi apartments in the secondary market tends to be stable, in some places it has decreased slightly by 100-200 million VND/apartment compared to the end of 2024.

For example, at a luxury apartment building in Nam Tu Liem district, in November 2024, the price of a studio apartment was commonly offered for sale from 2-2.2 billion VND, but now some homeowners need to sell urgently, the price is only from 1.98-2 billion VND.

Also in this project, the asking price for 1+1 bedroom apartments is currently fluctuating between 2.9-3 billion VND/apartment while previously the asking price was 3.1-3.2 billion VND/apartment. The asking price has decreased by about 100-200 million VND/apartment.

Or for 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartments, the selling price also decreased slightly from 3.7-3.8 billion VND/apartment, down to 3.5-3.6 billion VND/apartment.

As for the 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment, the asking price is around 4-4.1 billion VND/apartment instead of 4.2-4.3 billion VND/apartment before Tet.

At the Golden Field project in My Dinh, 2-bedroom apartments are being offered for sale at a popular price of 4.7 billion VND/unit. The previous asking price ranged from 4.7-4.9 billion VND.

In Cau Giay district, a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment at A14 Nam Trung Yen was once priced at 3.6-3.7 billion VND/apartment, but now the price has slightly decreased to 3.5-3.6 billion VND/apartment.

Mr. Pham Duc Toan, General Director of EZ Property, commented that in 2024, apartment prices will increase by an average of 40-150%, with some areas increasing by up to 200%. Therefore, 100-200 million VND/apartment is a very low decrease compared to the increase in apartment prices in recent times.

Furthermore, according to Mr. Toan, the phenomenon of some homeowners wanting to sell and reducing prices does not fully reflect the market. In reality, supply is still lacking, so house prices are still high, especially for newly opened projects.

The General Director of EZ Property cited an example, an apartment project in Ha Dong has just opened for sale at a price of more than 80 million VND/m2, this price is close to the price of apartments in the inner city.

According to him, supply may increase but housing prices will still be difficult to decrease. The reason is that supply only increases partly in the high-end segment, while the mid-range segment is very rare.

In the short term, it will be even more difficult for apartment prices in Hanoi to decrease. In the medium and long term, if housing needs are met through the development of social housing and affordable housing, apartment prices can only decrease in some areas such as Hoai Duc, Dong Anh, Gia Lam, Thuong Tin, etc. In the central districts, it is difficult for apartment prices to decrease," said Mr. Toan.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, also said that apartment prices will hardly tend to go down this year.

According to Mr. Dinh, when supply in 2025 is still concentrated in the high-end and luxury segments in major cities, apartment prices will continue to remain high.

Ha Long: 3 more social housing projects added to the 2021-2025 phase plan

On February 26, 2025, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province issued Decision No. 545/QD-UBND on adjusting and supplementing the housing development plan (social housing section) in Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province for the period 2021-2025.

According to Decision 545, in the period of 2021-2025, Quang Ninh province will have a total of 25 social housing projects, of which Ha Long city has the most with 11 projects; followed by Quang Yen town with 4 projects; Cam Pha city and Hai Ha district each have 3 projects; Uong Bi city has 2 projects; Mong Cai city and Van Don district each have 01 project.

Specifically, for Ha Long city, according to the adjustment of the list of areas expected to develop social housing according to projects in Ha Long city in the period of 2021-2025, there are a total of 11 social housing projects. Of which: There are 4 social housing projects that keep the plan, including: Ghome Ha Long project in Hong Hai and Cao Thang wards; Social housing development project on 20% land fund of the Northwest Housing Group project on Tran Thai Tong street in Cao Xanh ward; Social housing development project in Cho village residential area, Thong Nhat commune; Social housing area under Ha Khanh FLC Urban Area project.

4 social housing projects have adjusted information, including: Social housing area in the urban area of ​​Cao Thang, Ha Khanh, Ha Lam wards; Social housing at Thuy San hill, Bai Chay ward; Social housing area at Polygon No. 3, Hung Thang service urban area, Hung Thang ward; Social housing in Viet Hung ward and Hoanh Bo ward;

3 social housing projects were added to the plan, including: Social housing in Ha Khau ward (QHPK 7); Social housing at the 20% land fund at the Ha Long Xanh Complex Urban Area project (Ha Long city side); Social housing at land plot AOM-72 in QHPK 2, Ha Khanh ward. These 3 additional social housing projects have a total project land area of ​​56.82 hectares and will provide 14,400 apartments for low-income workers in Ha Long city.

Freelance workers can buy apartments for more than 18 million/m2 in Hanoi, what documents are needed?

Recently, the CT3 social housing project in Kim Chung new urban area, Dong Anh district (Hanoi) of the joint venture Hanoi Housing Investment and Development Corporation (Handico) and Viglacera Corporation officially started construction. With an expected price of about 18.4 million VND/m2, the project has received much attention.

Another project eligible for sale in Hanoi, expected to receive purchase registrations in the fourth quarter of this year, is the Ha Dinh social housing project, built on plot NO1 of the Ha Dinh new urban area (Tan Trieu commune, Thanh Tri district), which has also become a "hot commodity" with a tentative selling price of VND25 million/m2.

This year, Hanoi plans to complete more than 4,600 social housing units, including units priced under VND18 million/m2, opening up many housing opportunities for people.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the beneficiaries of the social housing policy of the Housing Law 2023 have been expanded from 10 groups to 12 groups, specifically regulated in Article 76.

Many freelance workers are concerned that according to the 2023 Housing Law, they are considered “low-income earners in urban areas”. However, when comparing the regulations, citizens said that they cannot declare according to Form No. 01 in Appendix I of Circular No. 05/2024 of the Ministry of Construction.

Citizens request that the authorities review and provide support so that they can fill out the correct form and complete the application for purchasing social housing.

Responding to this issue, the Ministry of Construction said that Clause 5, Article 76 of the 2023 Housing Law stipulates the subjects eligible for social housing support policies, including low-income people in urban areas.

Clause 1, Article 78 of the 2023 Housing Law clearly states: To be eligible to buy social housing, in addition to being eligible for housing support policies, buyers must meet housing and income conditions.

According to Clause 2, Article 30 of Decree No. 100/2024, for low-income people in urban areas without a labor contract, if they are single, their actual monthly income must not exceed 15 million VND. If they are married, the applicant and his/her spouse must have a total actual monthly income of no more than 30 million VND.

Within 7 days from the date of receipt of the request for confirmation, the Commune People's Committee shall confirm the income conditions for 1 consecutive year from the time the subject specified in this Clause submits a valid application to the investor to register to buy or lease-purchase social housing.

Also according to the Ministry of Construction, the application for purchasing social housing for low-income people in urban areas (without a labor contract) includes:

- Application for purchase, hire-purchase, or rental of social housing (Form No. 01, Appendix II, Decree No. 100/2024/ND-CP);

- Certificate of subject confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune where permanent or temporary residence is registered (Form No. 01, Appendix I, Circular No. 05 of the Minister of Construction detailing a number of articles of the Housing Law);

- Certificate of housing conditions:

In case there is no house, it must be confirmed by the office/branch of the district-level land registration office in the province/city directly under the Central Government where there is a social housing investment project (Form No. 02 Appendix I Circular No. 05).

In case of having a house but the average housing area per capita is lower than 15m2 of floor area/person, the People's Committee of the commune where the declarant resides must issue a Certificate of housing conditions in the form of permanent residence registration (Form No. 03 Appendix I Circular No. 05);

- Documents proving income conditions to be eligible to buy social housing, confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune where the person declaring the income condition is a low-income person (Form No. 05, Appendix I, Circular No. 05).

In case the applicant for purchase or lease-purchase of social housing is married, his or her spouse must also declare a form of documents proving income conditions according to Form No. 04 or Form No. 05 in Appendix I of Circular No. 05.