Decree No. 100/2024/ND-CP, effective from August 1, 2024, detailing a number of articles of the Housing Law on the development and management of social housing (NƠXH), brings a series of notable changes related to NƠXH lending.
One of the notable changes is that the lending interest rate is adjusted according to the lending interest rate for poor households prescribed by the Prime Minister in each period.
Accordingly, with the lending interest rate for poor households at 6.6%/year, the social housing lending interest rate at the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) has increased by 1.8% compared to before, from 4.8% to 6.6%/year.
Many opinions say that this adjustment level may increase the pressure on those who have bought social housing to repay their debts, while new buyers will not see many incentives.
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter, Mr. Nguyen Van Vu (32 years old), who is in need of buying social housing, said that the 1.8% interest rate increase is too high.
Mr. Vu gave an example: a social housing buyer borrows 1 billion VND for 20 years with a preferential interest rate of 4.8%/year. Now, it has increased by 1.8%, equivalent to the borrower having to pay more than 18 million VND/year beyond the original calculation. Each month, a low-income person has to pay an additional 1.5 million VND, which is too much.
“In my opinion, we need to consider the budget source to support borrowers to buy social housing, and allocate budget to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to support preferential interest rates for people. That way, people who borrow to buy social housing will not be pressured, and will not exceed their spending calculations,” Mr. Vu suggested.
Regarding this issue, Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said that with the new regulation, buyers and renters of social housing will be under pressure due to the unexpected increase in monthly interest payments.
Accordingly, the Chairman of HoREA proposed to consider continuing to maintain the interest rate of 4.8%/year for loans to buy social housing at the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to help create stability, especially when home buyers are still facing many difficulties.
Sharing with Lao Dong, financial expert, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tu - Lecturer at Hanoi University of Business and Technology, assessed that the current social housing loan interest rate of 4.8%/year is also a high level, not too preferential.
This expert believes that if the interest rate increase to 6.6% is to ensure the sustainability of the lending program and reduce the burden on the State budget, it should only be applied to new social housing buyers.
“With the new interest rate, new buyers will consider whether to borrow to buy social housing or not. As for those who have already bought social housing, the old interest rate should remain the same,” said Mr. Tu.
This expert added that under the new regulations, buyers will no longer enjoy many preferential interest rates when buying social housing. Therefore, in the future, they may decide to buy cheap commercial housing that is commensurate with the quality.
Meanwhile, according to some real estate experts, the increase in interest rates from 4.8% to 6.6% is not as important as increasing housing supply.
If social housing is abundant in the market, people will have the opportunity to choose from many different products and brands. In particular, if the price is suitable for people's ability to pay, interest rates will no longer be a concern.
