People have the opportunity to borrow to buy a house

Banks continuously adjust interest rates down

Under the direction of the Prime Minister, since the beginning of the year, the State Bank has adjusted the operating interest rates down 3 times with a total reduction of 0.5 - 1.5%/year. Along with that, in May 2023, implementing the direction of the State Bank, credit institutions have been taking measures to reduce lending interest rates to support businesses, people and the economy to recover production and business.

Vietcombank reduced lending interest rates by 0.5% for loans in VND for short-term deposits. Agribank also announced a preferential credit program of VND100,000 billion and USD500 million for corporate customers. Accordingly, lending interest rates are reduced by 1.5%/year for VND and 1%/year for USD loans, applicable from March 15 to the end of June. MB Bank also announced a 1%/year reduction in interest rates when customers borrow capital on digital platforms...

Reducing lending interest rates in the real estate sector helps people easily own houses that meet their needs.

Agribank has also reduced lending interest rates for the fifth consecutive time since the beginning of the year. During this period, Agribank continued to reduce lending interest rates by 0.5% per year for existing medium and long-term loans of customers.

At VPBank , interest rates have been reduced by 0.2%/year for terms over 12 months. In particular, the highest interest rate applied for terms of 12-13 months is only 8%/year, terms of 15-36 months are 7.2%/year...

This move from commercial banks is a good sign for the real estate market. Mr. Can Van Luc - an economic expert, said that this is a positive thing for the real estate market, because when loan interest rates decrease, it will have a positive impact on the psychology of both people and businesses. In particular, investors are being supported by banks to defer debt and extend interest payment progress. Thanks to that, financial pressure is reduced and loans with more reasonable interest rates are easier to access. This is also the driving force to help businesses quickly complete unfinished projects, creating supply for the market.

On the customer side, previously, high interest rates made them not dare to "put down money" to buy a house. Therefore, the real estate market fell into a state of stagnation, losing liquidity. Homebuyers and investors all shared the mentality of waiting for real estate prices to decrease further before buying. Therefore, in the context of gradually decreasing interest rates, the above situation will improve and the market sentiment will be more positive.

Many banks still put up many barriers

Recently, bank interest rates have continuously decreased sharply and are forecasted to continue to decrease from now until the end of the year. However, according to many businesses, accessing loans from banks is very difficult.

A representative of a real estate company said that although bank lending rates have decreased, at 10 - 12%/year, depending on the project, accessing capital is not easy.

“Banks have many requirements when considering loan applications. For example, businesses must not have bad debts, and mortgaged assets to secure the loan are carefully considered. However, at this time, the number of businesses with mortgaged assets is very small. Meanwhile, many local authorities currently sign land leases with short terms that do not meet the conditions for mortgaged assets…” - A representative of a real estate business shared.

After hearing the news that the bank lowered interest rates, Mr. Phung Tuan Dat (an employee of Viettel Group) went to several banks to ask for more information. However, contrary to his expectations, the banks all "shook their heads" in many ways such as running out of room for home loans, or having to wait until a borrower pays before lending... In addition, the procedures for considering loans are very strict, especially for people buying land or houses. Banks often prolong the approval and disbursement time. "The difficulty does not lie in the need for loans to buy or invest, to buy a house or buy land, but in fact, the credit room of many banks has run out, waiting for the room to be expanded" - Mr. Dat emphasized.

Faced with the difficulties of the real estate market in recent times, many economic experts have recommended that banks should consider real estate credit flexibly and appropriately, thereby controlling it selectively. Banks should promote lending to home buyers with real housing needs, especially in transactions of products belonging to affordable and mid-range apartment projects, with preferential treatment for social housing and worker housing. This will help people easily own houses that meet their needs.

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