Cost burden
For many workers in other provinces, life in Hanoi is a problem of relentless spending, making the dream of settling down a luxury. Ms. Duong (from Tuyen Quang), who has worked as a worker in an industrial park in Hanoi for 10 years, said that her basic income is only 6 million VND/month if she does not work overtime. This number poses a big challenge for living expenses, not to mention accumulation.
"With that salary, after deducting nearly 1 million VND from the rent, plus electricity, water, food and other small expenses, the remaining amount is very limited. I have to calculate each amount carefully, only saving a little to send back to my hometown to support my family," Ms. Duong confided.
Not only facing financial barriers, future plans are also a factor that makes her not think about social housing. She shared: "When asked about buying a house, I admitted that it was an amount I did not dare to consider. The reason is that my family has a stable house in the countryside. My plan is to work here for a while to accumulate capital and then I will return."
In a similar situation, Mr. Doan, a worker at an electronic components company, affirmed that income is the biggest barrier. After deducting 1.5 million VND from rent and essential expenses, his family only has 3 to 4 million VND left each month. This amount is being prioritized for preparing to welcome new members.
"My wife is about to give birth, so my husband and I have to try to save our savings to have a reserve when sick. I think my family does not have the financial means to buy a house, even if it is a social house," said Mr. Doan.
The story of Ms. Duong and Mr. Doan reflects the common reality of tens of thousands of workers: the basic salary is just enough to survive in an expensive city. Accumulating hundreds of millions of VND for the initial counterpart to buy a house is almost unimaginable.
policy is loose but not attractive enough
Although the dream of settling down is still far away for many workers, recently, the social housing segment has recorded positive changes, helping to increase people's access to housing. In 2025, many social housing projects are expected to start construction or open for sale such as N01 Ha Dinh project (Khuong Dinh ward); Uy No Dong Anh (Dong Anh commune); Rice City Thuong Thanh (Phuc Loi ward); Phu Lam (Phu Luong ward) ...
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Anh - Deputy General Director of Batdongsan.com.vn - emphasized that Decree 100 has loosened some regulations for social housing buyers. Accordingly, according to current regulations, people with an income of less than 15 million VND/month, who do not have a house or have a house but have an area of less than 15m2/person are eligible to buy social housing.
The market is also placing great expectations on credit easing policies. In 2025, credit growth is expected to increase to 16% and real estate lending rates are continuing to decline. In the first quarter of 2025, many commercial banks have launched preferential loan packages for young people such as BIDV with a package of VND40,000 billion (interest rate from 5.5%/year, maximum loan for 40 years); SHB ( interest rate from 3.99%/year, maximum loan for 35 years); HD Bank ( interest rate from 4.5%, maximum loan for 50 years)...
