Banks 'open the valve' of credit for real estate

A series of new policies are gradually removing bottlenecks in real estate supply, opening up access to capital for businesses. Grasping this trend, many commercial banks have accelerated capital injection into the real estate sector, especially prioritizing the social housing and low-cost commercial housing segments where real housing demand is very high.

Strong capital flow into real estate

By the end of March 2025, credit poured into the real estate business sector increased by 20% compared to the end of 2024, a rate far exceeding the overall credit growth of the entire economy (6.52% by the end of May).

At many banks, real estate loans currently account for 25-30% of total loans, showing the recovery momentum and high priority given to this sector.

The financial reports of the first quarter of 2025 of major banks clearly reflect the above trend. Techcombank leads with outstanding loans for real estate business reaching more than VND 214.7 trillion, accounting for nearly 34% of total outstanding loans and increasing by 20.6% compared to the end of 2024. VPBank recorded a figure of nearly VND 186 trillion (more than 25% of total outstanding loans), while SHB also reached more than VND 141 trillion (accounting for 25.4%), up 11.3% compared to the end of last year.

Along with commercial capital flows, the Government continues to promote credit for social housing through Resolution 201/2025/QH15. At the implementation conference in early June, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the need to remove legal obstacles and increase funding for the Housing Fund.

The State Bank has issued Official Dispatch 4290 instructing 9 banks to apply preferential interest rates for young people under 35 years old to borrow to buy social housing, with a fixed interest rate of 6.1%/year until June 30, 2025, 2% lower than the average medium and long-term interest rate of the "Big 4" state-owned banks.

However, the distribution of capital is still uneven. Social housing and low-cost commercial housing segments are given priority to access low-interest credit packages such as the VND145,000 billion package (interest rate of 6.1-6.6%/year). Meanwhile, high-end and speculative real estate still face many barriers due to the State Bank's strict control policy to limit bad debt risks.

According to Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh, real estate credit has seen positive changes since the beginning of the year, especially for projects serving real housing needs and low-income people. However, the market recovery is still not uniform, because the spillover effects from preferential capital flows are still limited to certain segments.

Grasping this trend, many commercial banks have accelerated capital injection into the real estate sector, especially prioritizing the social housing and low-cost commercial housing segments where real housing demand is very large.

Real estate credit bubble warning

Although capital is flowing strongly into real estate, experts warn that the excessively large and prolonged credit ratio for this sector could distort capital priorities and pose risks to the financial system.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has set a target of system-wide credit growth of about 16% in 2025, but stressed the need for credit institutions to strictly control real estate risks to avoid repeating the "bubble" lessons of the past.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Vice President of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, said that the imbalance is becoming increasingly clear when the high-end segment has easy access to capital, while affordable housing is left untouched. He warned that if capital flows into the segment serving real needs are not properly regulated, the market will fall into a serious supply-demand imbalance.

Another risk pointed out by Mr. Dinh is that over 50% of real estate enterprises' capital currently depends on bank credit. Meanwhile, banks use short-term capital to lend long-term, causing the risk of liquidity imbalance to increase.

Given this situation, it is urgent to develop additional capital channels such as bonds, treasury bills, investment funds, housing development funds, etc. Although discussed for more than a decade, these models are still facing legal barriers and cannot operate effectively.

During the question-and-answer session on June 19, delegate Le Thi Thanh Lam (Hau Giang) raised concerns: the financial, monetary, and banking markets are fraught with risks; the real estate market is facing prolonged difficulties, while gold is unstable, threatening the 8% GDP growth target in 2025. She asked the Minister of Finance directly: "What solutions can we advise the Government to overcome the above challenges?"

Responding, Minister Nguyen Van Thang affirmed: financial, monetary and real estate markets are the “blood vessels” of the economy, closely linked and sensitive to global fluctuations. Therefore, ensuring the safety and sustainable development of these markets requires fundamental solutions and synchronous coordination from many ministries, sectors and localities.

Mr. Thang said that the Ministry of Finance is working with relevant agencies to develop and implement Resolution 01, a comprehensive document containing solutions to stabilize the market, from fiscal policy management, monetary control on a monthly and quarterly basis, to perfecting the legal framework, making the trading floor transparent and improving monitoring capacity.

The Ministry is also studying tax policy adjustments, improving the investment and business environment, and unlocking resources for the economy, including real estate businesses, to ensure sustainable growth targets for 2025 and the following years.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/ngan-hang-bung-van-tin-dung-cho-bat-dong-san-256152.html