More options for idle money
When deposit interest rates increase again, people with idle money are no longer under much pressure to quickly find another asset to invest in.
The July 2026 Money Market Report by MBS Securities Company shows that the upward momentum of deposit interest rates became clearer in July. According to MBS's survey, the average deposit interest rate for a 12-month term at commercial banks rose to about 8.63%/year, an increase of 2.82 percentage points compared to the beginning of the year.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Master Ngo Anh Nguyet - Lecturer at the Institute of Banking Science Research, Banking Academy - said that the current interest rate level makes the savings channel more attractive, especially with cash flow prioritizing safety.
Part of the idle money can return to the deposit or be kept for terms of 6-12 months while people wait for more signals from interest rates and asset markets" - Ms. Nguyet said.
According to MSc Nguyet, this does not mean that money will simultaneously withdraw from stocks, real estate or gold. However, when deposits bring higher returns than before, investors may require higher returns to accept risks in other assets.
For example, 1 billion VND if deposited at a simulated interest rate of 7%/year brings about 70 million VND after one year. An investment has the potential to fluctuate prices, is difficult to convert into money or incur additional costs, so it must create a profit level expected to be large enough to compensate for this risk.
Notably, caution is also being shown in the stock market. In the August 2026 Strategy Report, SSI Research said that high capital costs have begun to have a clearer impact on business operations and interest rate pressure has not decreased significantly. Instead of betting widely on the diễn biến of the index, SSI believes that the market is demanding a more selective approach by industry and each business, especially paying attention to the health of the balance sheet and the ability to maintain profits.
It can be seen that higher interest rates do not necessarily cause cash flow to leave stocks, but may make the criteria for choosing assets more stringent.
Real estate must prove its exploitation value
With real estate, the problem is even clearer because the initial capital is large and liquidity is lower. Ms. Nguyet said that the apartment rental rate in Hanoi is currently only around 3-4%/year. If buyers still use a lot of borrowed capital, the rental cash flow may be significantly lower than the financial costs to be spent. For example, an apartment worth 5 billion VND with a 4% rental rate generates revenue of about 200 million VND/year, excluding the time the house is vacant, interior costs, maintenance and arising expenses.
If the investor has 2 billion VND and borrows 3 billion VND, with the assumption that the loan interest is 10%/year, the interest alone is about 300 million VND/year. In this case, the rent is not enough to cover the cost of capital, meaning that the effectiveness of the investment depends heavily on the expectation that house prices will continue to increase.
Selling pressure is usually concentrated in cases of using high leverage, low cash flow assets or being bought mainly with the expectation of price increase" - Ms. Nguyet said.
Looking back at the Real Estate Market Report for the second quarter and the first 6 months of 2026 of VARS IRE announced on July 16, there was also a change in the appetite of cash flow. According to this unit, capital flow is increasingly prioritizing products with clear legal status, guaranteed progress, actual exploitation capacity and meeting long-term usage needs, instead of just relying on the expectation that prices will continue to rise.
A survey of more than 1,000 consumers published by Batdongsan. com. vn at the same time showed that, although psychology towards the market has become more positive, 28% of respondents still choose to observe and 15% remain cautious. This unit assesses that financial, legal, infrastructure and quality of life are becoming more important factors in real estate purchase decisions.
Regarding gold, Ms. Nguyet noted that the flow of money also depends heavily on world prices, exchange rates and risk hedging needs, so it is difficult to simply infer that when deposit interest rates increase, money will leave the precious metal.
According to Ms. Nguyet, the more noteworthy point is that cash holders now have more options to wait. When depositing savings has brought significant returns, real estate, securities or other risky assets must prove that the profitability is attractive enough before the cash flow decides to deposit money.
