Concerns about interest and financial problems of real people
Owning a house in the capital is always the goal of many young families. However, when making calculations, many people have to temporarily put their dreams aside because of the pressure to repay the debt.
Ms. Mai, who is working at an office in Cau Giay, Hanoi, is such a case. She said that her family had saved up an initial amount, but still hesitated before daring to decide.
"I really want to buy a house, but every time I look at the numbers, I am afraid of having to make a hard profit" - Ms. Mai confided.
Ms. Mai's concern is completely grounded when looking at the real story of Mr. Vu Dinh Kien's family in Hoai Khanh, Hanoi. Mr. Kien decided to borrow 1 billion VND from a bank in the Big 4 group (with state capital) from the beginning of 2025 to complete his settlement goal. Up to now, his family has to pay the bank about 15 million VND per month in principal and interest.
"The total income of both husband and wife is more than 30 million VND/month. This income seems good, but because we have young children, the cost of diapers, education and living expenses in Hanoi is very expensive, so we are still under pressure to spend a lot" - Mr. Kien said.
Mr. Kien's family's case shows that bank debt repayment accounts for up to 50% of total income, creating a constant financial strain.
Lending policies and customer experience
While people with real housing needs are hesitant about spending, on the bank side, the journey to learn about people's loans also shows different experiences.
Mr. Hung, who is looking to buy an old apartment in Ha Dong area (Hanoi), said that he has tried to contact a joint stock commercial bank. When presenting his need for a personal home loan, he was advised on an interest rate that he commented was " quite high". The bank employee explained that they currently " do not have cheap capital" and added that their policy is to "less lend to individual customers", mainly focusing capital on home buyers under large projects with which the bank is affiliated.
A similar experience was shared by Mr. Viet Thang (from Ninh Binh, living in Trung Kinh, Hanoi). With the hope that state-owned banks will have an "eaper" policy, he went to a branch in the Big 4 group. Here, he also received information that their branch mainly lent to projects with links due to internal "regulations".
However, this bank branch still gave Mr. Thang a reference loan package. The maximum loan term is up to 30 years. The recommended preferential interest rate is 6.5%/year for the first 6 months, and 7.5%/year for the next 12 months. After 18 months, the interest rate will be "floating", calculated by the basic interest rate plus a margin of 3.5%. The bank also stated that this interest rate has a regulation of "no less than 9%/year" for real estate loans.
With the permission to calculate the reference for the loan of 1 billion VND, Mr. Thang will have to pay about 2.8 million VND in principal and 7.5 million VND in interest, a total of more than 10 million VND.
Looking at the market, general survey data shows that lending interest rates currently fluctuate within a fairly wide range, depending on the policy of each bank and the purpose of capital use.
mortgaged consumer loans (including home loans) are being applied by banks at common interest rates from 5 - 18%/year. Meanwhile, unsecured loans (without collateral) have higher interest rates, ranging from 7 - 21%/year.
