The Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) has just issued document No. 111/2026/CV-HoREA dated September 6, 2026, proposing to supplement the policy of developing commercial housing at prices suitable for the affordability of people with average and low incomes into the draft revised Housing Law.
According to HoREA, developing affordable commercial housing aims to increase the supply of housing with reasonable prices, meeting the needs of a large number of people with average and low incomes. Along with the goal of developing at least 1 million social housing units in the period 2021-2030, this policy will contribute to restructuring the real estate market and meeting the real housing needs of society.
The real estate market from 2020 to now has both lacked housing supply and experienced a "dismatch" in segments, when the supply of high-end housing increased but there was a great shortage of affordable commercial housing and social housing.
Typically in Ho Chi Minh City, the proportion of affordable commercial housing has also decreased sharply in the last 6 years. In 2020, the market only had 163 affordable commercial housing apartments, accounting for 1% of the total number of commercial housing put on the market. However, from 2021 to 2024, no affordable commercial housing apartments were put on the market.
HoREA proposed that the Housing Law only stipulate the selling price, installment selling price, maximum rental price of commercial housing at appropriate prices according to the regulations of the Provincial People's Committee or assign the Provincial People's Council to decide the selling price, installment selling price, maximum rental price of commercial housing at appropriate prices for the Provincial People's Committee to implement.
At the same time, HoREA proposed not to stipulate "maximum profit", but to let businesses "self-calculate" the cost and selling price of houses in their commercial housing projects. Accordingly, if the price offered by businesses is appropriate, not exceeding the selling price, installment selling price, maximum rental price, then businesses can register to participate in implementing commercial housing projects at appropriate prices.
HoREA proposes to stipulate that investors of commercial housing projects with reasonable prices are allowed to carry out priority construction investment procedures according to green channels like social housing projects according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 65 of the draft Housing Law, in order to shorten the time for implementing investment procedures and project implementation.
The Association also proposed not to stipulate that the buyer or lease-purchaser of commercial housing at a suitable price from the investor is not allowed to resell the house within a minimum of 5 years from the date of receiving the house handover. According to HoREA, once it is commercial housing, even if it is a commercial housing project at a suitable price, the home buyer after having a Certificate of House Ownership (pink book) has the right to transfer the house according to demand at any time and must pay taxes to the State according to regulations.
HoREA proposed to supplement regulations that in cases where commercial housing projects at reasonable prices are implemented in rural and mountainous areas, low-rise houses can be built to suit the characteristics of rural and mountainous areas, in addition to the general regulation that commercial housing at reasonable prices is apartment buildings.
