House prices rise rapidly
A report by the Ministry of Construction shows that apartment prices in Ho Chi Minh City continue the upward trend in both mid-range and high-end segments. Many high-end projects in the center exceed the threshold of 200 million VND/m2, reflecting the escalating price level, especially in the central area.
In the mid-range segment, the common asking price ranges from 70-130 million VND/m2.Meanwhile, the high-end segment continues to establish a new price level, commonly from over 200 million VND/m2 and possibly up to nearly 600 million VND/m2 at luxury projects.
Experts believe that the biggest paradox still exists in the market that has not been resolved, which is that people are finding it increasingly difficult to buy houses.The reason is that housing prices are increasingly escalating, exceeding the reach of many people.
The above data shows that the price threshold above 100 million VND/m2 is gradually becoming a common level in many areas of Ho Chi Minh City.The main reason comes from input costs, including construction materials and finance, continuing to increase, leading to rising selling prices.
In addition, the lack of affordable apartment supply can also push the housing price level up, forcing people to buy products beyond their financial capacity, thereby reducing access to housing and affecting social security goals.
Proposing to change the population calculation method to save house prices
Mr. Le Hoang Chau - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) - said that for many years, the structure of housing products in Ho Chi Minh City has been seriously skewed towards the high-end segment. From 2021 to mid-2025, the market almost no longer has affordable commercial housing, instead the dominance of the mid- and high-end segments, in which high-end housing accounts for over 70% of the supply.
This reality makes a large part of the population, especially young people and people with average incomes, almost "out of the game" when house prices continuously linger at high levels.Meanwhile, real housing demand is still very large, but is not met by suitable products.
The "reasonable price commercial housing" segment should be understood as apartments with an area of about 50 - 70 m2, selling prices ranging from 2 - 5 billion VND/unit, equivalent to a price of about 30 - 70 million VND/m2.This is considered a "reasonable price" for the majority of urban residents, especially first-time homebuyers.
However, the reality of the current market shows that the supply at this price level almost does not exist in the central area of Ho Chi Minh City.The reason is not in demand, but mainly due to the lack of mechanisms to encourage businesses to develop this type.Current legal regulations, including the Housing Laws through periods, do not have separate policies to promote the affordable price commercial housing segment.
HoREA believes that the rigid application of the population determination method according to Decision 32/2025/QD-UBND is unintentionally creating a supply-demand mismatch, pushing housing projects into a difficult position.
Accordingly, Decision No. 32/2025/QD-UBND dated December 26, 2025, effective from January 9, 2026, is expected to be a standard legal framework to determine the population size and apartment structure in apartment building projects.However, after only 3 months of implementation, HoREA has pointed out the arising "inadequacies".
The core issue lies in the fact that Decision 32/2025 only stipulates a single method for determining population.The application of this method creates priority for "large apartments", suitable for a part of high-income people in high-end projects, but is completely "out of sync" with the actual needs of the majority of urban residents, young people starting businesses and middle and low-income groups.
To remove the above-mentioned obstacles, HoREA proposes to add a new population determination method. The Association proposes new population calculation levels based on usable area and number of rooms (instead of just applying a rigid formula).
For ordinary apartments, it is proposed to classify more detailedly, for example, 2-bedroom apartments or more (45-160 m2) are calculated for 2-3 people, or determined according to the target of 32 m2/person. In particular, a flexible mechanism is added for 1-bedroom apartments with an area of 25-45 m2 calculated for 1 person.
For social housing and resettlement, it is proposed to adjust the area milestones (for example, the level of 77 m2 instead of 75 m2) to be consistent with current regulations on social housing and the reality of minimum resettlement quotas, avoiding the situation of "rigidity" in population allocation.
