Selling houses, working as a motorbike taxi driver…
For young people, the story of taking out a bank loan to buy a house is no longer unfamiliar, especially in a densely populated city like Ho Chi Minh City. The desire to find a place to settle down and build a career is always a strong aspiration for everyone. Many people have taken out loans and repaid them gradually over 20-30 years, but not everyone succeeds.
A few weeks ago, Ms. NT's family (residing in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) decided to sell their small house near the Thu Duc wholesale market to repay a bank loan. Ms. T. sadly explained that in 2020, she and her husband bought the house, which was over 50 square meters in size, in a small alley for nearly 3 billion VND. At that time, her husband was still working in an industrial park in Dong Nai with a salary of about 20 million VND per month. Their total income was nearly 40 million VND, enough to support two young children without too much financial difficulty. Each month, they still set aside 17 million VND to pay off the 1.6 billion VND mortgage loan and 2.5 million VND for the over 100 million VND unsecured loan.
“Although the current market interest rate for new loans is very good, only about 7% per year, my debt is still over 1.3 billion VND and the floating interest rate is up to 11% per year (with a fixed preferential rate of 8.7% per year for the first two years). However, because my husband currently has no stable income due to unemployment, we cannot refinance the loan. Paying nearly 20 million VND per month for the bank loan, not to mention food, education for the children, and the family… has truly exhausted me, forcing me to sell the house, even though I regret it,” Ms. T. shared. Ms. MH, Ms. T.'s neighbor, also expressed regret: “The house was offered at a fairly reasonable price of 3.7 billion VND, but I don't have the money to buy it. If I did, I would buy it immediately for my son who is about to get married. The house is clean, with one ground floor and one upper floor, conveniently located near the market and schools… The children have already paid nearly 600 million VND in interest on the bank loan.”
In a similar situation, Ms. MTL, residing in Tan Phu District (Ho Chi Minh City), who works at a media corporation, is also struggling to pay off her family's installment loans and investment losses totaling nearly 4 billion VND. Each month, Ms. L. and her husband pay approximately 30 million VND in interest, while the principal will be paid later when they have the means. According to Ms. L., they will persevere for as long as they can. Besides working during the day, in the evenings Ms. L. livestreams to sell various specialty fruits, while her husband works as a ride-hailing driver to earn extra income. From a plump woman weighing nearly 70kg, after two years of immense pressure, Ms. L. now weighs less than 50kg.
Let's make do with what we have.
Recounting her own experience, Ms. HCD, a teacher residing in Go Vap District (Ho Chi Minh City), believes that knowing when to let go is also a good thing. Ms. D. recounted that during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, her husband died of a stroke, leaving her alone to struggle with two growing children and a bank debt of over 1.5 billion VND, while both sets of parents were facing financial difficulties. At that time, Ms. D. suffered from severe depression, a relapse of her stomach problems, and was unable to work effectively… “After more than half a year living on medication and constantly going in and out of the hospital, I decided to sell my assets to pay off the debt. Because ultimately, as long as I'm alive, I can still have possessions, and with good health, I can earn money. Fortunately, looking back now, I see it as the wisest decision of my life,” Ms. D. confided.
Analyzing data from several real estate websites in Vietnam, property prices in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, especially in the central areas, rarely decrease. Furthermore, the demand for housing in these areas is very high. Regarding apartment prices, over the past 10 years, selling prices in some districts/wards have increased significantly. For example, in the Hung Ngan apartment complex (Duong Thi Muoi Street, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City), a one-bedroom apartment cost 720 million VND in 2014, but by the end of 2024 it had risen to approximately 1.5 billion VND, and currently successful transactions are at 1.5-1.7 billion VND depending on the interior design. Ms. BKL, a young teacher residing in District 12 (Ho Chi Minh City), reported that her family's townhouse, measuring 48 square meters and located on an alley approximately 5 meters wide, was purchased for less than 800 million VND in early 2014. However, in May of this year, someone offered nearly 4 billion VND for it, but she hasn't sold it yet. Nearby houses have been successfully transacted at prices ranging from 3.4 to 3.8 billion VND, depending on size and location.
This shows that if young people didn't manage to buy a house before, the current high prices and salary increases that can't compensate for inflation will make it even harder for them to buy a home. However, this now relates to the "first step - where's the money?" issue, as young people don't have much savings. Mr. BQT, a chef at a restaurant in Binh Thanh District (Ho Chi Minh City), said: "I've worked in Ho Chi Minh City for almost 20 years and saved over 1.5 billion VND, but buying an apartment or a house in Ho Chi Minh City right now requires careful consideration. If I have to borrow too much, I plan to go to the outskirts of Long An to buy land and build a house. When the price goes up, I'll sell it – a 'sell far, buy nearby' approach – instead of struggling to pay installments right now."
Difficulties exist in every era, and those involved need to proactively balance their lives and anticipate potential risks. Many economic experts advise that each person should maintain a reserve fund of 100-200 million VND to cover illness, unemployment, and other emergencies. Additionally, it's recommended to only borrow 30%-50% of the value of the house they intend to buy (banks typically lend 70%-80%) to ensure a balance between income and expenses, as well as long-term debt repayment security.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/duoi-suc-vi-vay-mua-nha-tra-gop-post800440.html
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