The demand for affordable housing for workers is huge
The North of Ho Chi Minh City is the former Binh Duong area with 36 communes and wards. Binh Duong area is concentrated with about 30 industrial parks and 10 industrial clusters, along with thousands of factories located in residential areas. The factories attract about 1.3 million workers, most of whom are workers far from home, renting rooms in small rental housing units.
Many workers, who have been in Ho Chi Minh City for 5 years or more, have begun to need to buy a house to "set up a business".
Ms. Le Thi Huong (50 years old, from Ninh Binh) said that she has been living in Ho Chi Minh City for about 20 years, but due to difficult life, she has not been able to buy a stable house. After her husband passed away, Mrs. Le Thi Huong and her children returned to live and work as workers in Binh Duong ward.
"Both mother and child work as workers, with a total income of only about 15 million VND per month. If you are frugally spending, it will only be enough to cover a tight living expenses. If you have a little left over, you have to save money to store medicine when you are sick. The mother and daughter also calculated the cost of buying land to build a house, but the land price was too high, the lowest in any place was from 1 billion VND or more. We couldn't buy it, so we had to stay for a long time."
According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the demand for social housing of people in 36 communes and wards in Binh Duong area (formerly) is very high. It is forecasted that from now until 2030, the number of workers who need to buy social housing will be about 129,212 units.
High land prices, scarce supply of low-cost apartments
After many real estate fevers, land prices in the Binh Duong area have previously increased. In Thuan An, Di An and Thu Dau Mot areas, the average price is 20-30 million VND/m2. Meanwhile, in Ben Cat and Tan Uyen areas, the price is also from 12-15 million VND per square meter. With this price, low-income workers cannot access it.
Meanwhile, the supply of low-cost apartments in the northern area of Ho Chi Minh City is very scarce. According to records, in the past 3 years, the construction of social housing (NOXH) in Binh Duong area has slowed down. The number of completed and accepted projects is very small, leading to a small number of workers owning social housing during this period.
According to statistics from the construction industry, from 2021 to the end of 2024, only 6 commune social housing projects have been completed and put into use with 1,643 units. The completed projects are mainly concentrated in Thuan An and Ben Cat. Localities with a large concentration of workers such as Di An, Tan Uyen and Thu Dau Mot have had almost no completed projects in recent years. Workers in these localities are still looking for social housing.
By 2025, there are a number of social housing projects built by private real estate companies allowed to open for sale in Hoa Loi ward, Chanh Hiep ward, Binh Duong ward. The number of apartments provided to the market is about 2,000 units. However, the price of apartments in this segment is quite high, averaging 17-20 million VND/m2. Each completed apartment has an average of 750 million VND to 1.2 billion VND. With this price, low-income workers are also hesitant and do not dare to risk buying.
Notably, recently, Becamex Corporation has started construction of 2 social housing areas, expected to supply the market with about 3,000 apartments. The price of social housing apartments built by Becamex Corporation ranges from 150-300 million VND/apartment to about 30m2. This price is considered suitable for low-income workers. However, in this segment, it will be around the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027 when apartments are completed to supply the market.
