Lack of supply causes social housing prices to increase
A report from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction shows that from 2021 to May 2025, Ho Chi Minh City has only completed 2,745 social housing units. It is expected that by the end of 2025, the city will complete 2,874 more houses registered with the Ministry of Construction, bringing the total number of social housing units by the end of 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City to about 5,619.
Thus, to achieve the goal of completing 100,000 apartments assigned by the Prime Minister, in the period of 2026 - 2030, Ho Chi Minh City needs to complete an additional 94,381 social housing units.
According to the plan, in 2026, Ho Chi Minh City will complete 9,438 units (accounting for 10% of the 94,381 units that need to be completed). In the following years from 2027 - 2030, each year, the number of houses will be completed at a rate of 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%, respectively.
According to the report of the Department of Construction, in recent times, the City People's Committee and departments and branches have made great efforts to focus on removing difficulties and obstacles in legal procedures so that projects can soon be implemented. Because a social housing project takes a long time from the time of implementing legal procedures to the time of starting construction and completing the construction to put into use, from 3 to 5 years.
Therefore, the city is also facing a paradox that while there is a surplus of commercial housing, the high-end segment, social housing projects are lacking.
Dr. Su Ngoc Khuong, Senior Director of Investment Consulting at Savills Vietnam, commented that in the context of Ho Chi Minh City, planning social housing and low-income housing is always a story. However, in reality, the supply in the market is not complete. This problem is still facing many difficulties in terms of planning, land, transport infrastructure, etc.
This expert said that many social housing projects have been completed but no people have moved there to live. The reason comes from three main factors: technical infrastructure, social infrastructure and urban economic problems - which are not guaranteed. The picture of social housing is not simply a matter of land fund, but also a comprehensive problem of high socialization, Dr. Su Ngoc Khuong emphasized.
In addition to the problem of infrastructure, fluctuations in construction material prices and a shortage of supply are pushing social housing prices up sharply in the secondary market. In reality, many apartments are being offered for sale at double or even double the original price after only a few years of handover.
Dr. Khuong also pointed out that the gap between supply and demand, along with unsynchronized planning, makes it difficult for social housing to reach people with real needs. According to the standards of the Ministry of Construction, the average housing area should be 2530 m2/person in type I urban areas, but the current reality is still not met.
Prioritizing the implementation of large-scale social housing projects
With the goal of rapidly developing social housing, striving to achieve the target assigned by the Prime Minister of 100,000 units by 2030, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction said it will coordinate to complete projects, policies, and plans for developing social housing for each specific group of subjects, promoting the overall resources of sectors and fields.
In addition, a Steering Committee for Social Housing Development was established to focus on removing difficulties and obstacles for projects that will soon be put into construction.
Regarding projects, in 2025, Ho Chi Minh City will focus on removing obstacles and speeding up the implementation of legal procedures for social housing projects to ensure compliance with the targets assigned by the Government and the targets stated in the local Housing Development Program and Plan. In particular, priority is given to projects with a large scale of over 1,000 apartments to soon deploy investment and construction synchronously in technical infrastructure and social infrastructure.
In 2025, Ho Chi Minh City will organize bidding to select investors for social housing projects in 8 land plots directly managed by the State with a total scale of about 10,000 apartments and promote the start of 8 projects with a scale of 8,000 apartments.
