The real estate market entered the second half of the year with clear supply improvement after a long period of scarcity. Many investors restarted projects, launching new products to the market. The supply increase is expected to continue in the last months of the year when Savills estimates that about 10,000 apartments will be opened for sale in Ho Chi Minh City.
Although supply has increased, primary selling prices in many areas are anchored at high levels, even continuing to establish new premises. Explaining this phenomenon, experts believe that the reason is that most of the projects opened for sale this year belong to the mid- and high-end segments, with popular prices from 60-120 million VND/m2.
Meanwhile, the affordable segment has hardly appeared in Ho Chi Minh City. Social housing has additional supply but the scale is still limited and serves a specific group of subjects, so it is not enough to create an impact on the price level of the commercial housing market. The market still lacks affordable products to pull the price level back to a more reasonable level.
That is the reason why market absorption is showing signs of slowing down. Dat Xanh Services recorded about 26,100 products traded in the first half of the year, down 62% compared to the last 6 months of 2025. The average market absorption rate is only about 20-30%, down about 10 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
In the context of reduced purchasing power, many investors are introducing discount policies, interest rate support or extending payment schedules, which are seen as tools for investors to reduce immediate financial pressure on customers, thereby creating more motivation for purchasing decisions.
As at the Phu Dong SkyOne project (Tan Dong Hiep ward, Ho Chi Minh City), Phu Dong Group introduced a policy introduced as "buying a house without borrowing". Accordingly, customers pay initially about 10% of the product value, equivalent to 269 million VND including VAT. The remainder is divided according to progress, with a payment rate of about 0.5% per month. After that, a part of the financial obligation continues to be extended until the time of receiving the house and an additional 12 months.
At the Izumi City project (Dong Nai), Nam Long implements a plan for customers to receive houses after paying 60% of the product value. The remaining value is guaranteed by the credit institution and allowed to extend the payment schedule for the next 24 months, thereby reducing financial pressure on customers.
Or like Bcons Group, it also uses financial tools to support buyers. Some sales programs of businesses apply 0% interest during construction, while extending the principal debt grace period after the project is completed or handed over.
Experts assess that the actual effectiveness of these policies still depends on the product price and affordability of buyers, rather than just on the value of gifts or announced incentives. Real estate lending rates are currently around 10-15% per year, in some cases up to 16%, putting great pressure on both buyers and businesses.
Dr. Nguyen Duy Phuong, Senior Director of DG Capital's financial consulting block, said that finding projects with prices suitable for the actual needs of buyers is increasingly difficult. Even prices around 70 million VND/m2 are becoming scarce in some major markets. The current price level is already high, while home loan interest rates are still a factor that makes buyers carefully consider their financial capacity.
The market's problem in the coming time is not simply whether house prices will increase or decrease, but businesses need to develop the right products, set prices close to demand; buyers need to reduce cash flow pressure; credit needs to have reasonable costs and supply needs to be closer to actual housing needs.
Clearing liquidity is therefore not just a short-term stimulus story. When selling prices, affordability and project development costs get closer, the market has a basis to improve transactions instead of relying on discount programs," Dr. Phuong said.
