These moves show that the issue of rental housing, first of all in Hanoi, is being promoted at a very rapid pace. This is a breakthrough in policies related to real estate and housing nationwide for many years.
The current reality shows that a large part of workers in large cities cannot afford to buy houses even though the supply of commercial housing is continuously increasing, because prices far exceed their affordability.
In that context, the Government's strong promotion of rental housing shows a timely and reasonable shift in thinking and housing development policies.
Housing now is built not simply for sale, but first of all to serve the living needs of people with reasonable policies. True to the spirit in the speech of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung that the State does not subsidize housing but also does not completely let the market self-regulate. If only relying on the market, capital flow will always prioritize the high-profit segment. At that time, the actual housing needs of the majority of people are easily left behind.
Therefore, Hanoi and in the future other localities, promoting rental housing projects has opened up great opportunities for urban residents.
Young people starting a business will have more choices instead of having to borrow too much to buy a house. Workers, teachers, doctors, civil servants or migrant workers... have the opportunity to access better housing at a more reasonable cost.
More importantly, the development of rental housing also helps the real estate market nationwide to more balance between investment needs and actual housing needs.
The development of large-scale, professionally managed rental housing funds can help ensure stable housing for people, while increasing the flexibility of the urban real estate market.
Of course, to develop a sustainable rental housing market, there will be many challenges regarding land funds, capital, credit incentives or mechanisms to attract businesses to participate.
If implemented seriously and synchronously, this could be the starting point for a housing market closer to the real needs of urban residents, instead of just revolving around the story of ownership and investment as in previous years.
