Is social housing really cheap?

VTV.vn - In the context of the selling price of many social housing projects in Hanoi reaching nearly 30 million VND/m2, the dream of home ownership for low- and middle-income people is still far away.

Photo: Ngoc Hien

“Unlocking” housing opportunities but reality is still far away

The new mechanism from Decree 261/2025/ND-CP has significantly expanded the subjects eligible to buy social housing (NƠXH) by raising the income ceiling to 20 - 40 million VND/month. This adjustment is considered to "open the door" to housing for workers. But when looking at the actual selling prices and payment conditions at NƠXH projects in Hanoi , many people realize that the dream of settling down is still quite far away.

According to a report by the Hanoi Department of Construction, from the end of 2024 until now, a series of social housing projects in Hanoi have been started, but the selling price has tended to increase sharply. Before 2023, the selling price of social housing in the capital fluctuated from 13-17 million VND/m2.

One of the highest prices currently is the Thuong Thanh social housing area (Rice City Long Chau) with a price of 29.4 million VND/m2 (including VAT, excluding maintenance fee) opened for sale from October 1. Buyers must spend 940 million to 2 billion VND, depending on the area to own a house here. The previous record belonged to the social housing project in Ha Dinh, Tan Trieu commune, Thanh Tri district (old) with a tentative selling price of 25 million VND/m2.

Perspective of Rice City Long Chau social housing project with price of 27 million VND/m2. Photo: BIC Vietnam.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Trang, 29 years old, an accountant at a trading company in Cau Giay ward, currently renting a room in Phu Dien ward, shared: “I have saved for more than four years, plus a little money from my parents, now I have about 120 million. I plan to register to buy social housing at Trung Van project, a 50m2 apartment priced at more than 1 billion. But to borrow from the bank, I must have at least 20% of my own capital, which is about 200 million. But I do not have enough. Although the interest rate of 5.4% is really low, it is difficult to get to the step of borrowing.”

Ms. Trang earns about 18 million VND per month. After deducting rent, living expenses and sending some money back home, there is almost no significant surplus left. “I don’t mind taking out a long-term loan as long as I can have a stable place to live. But with such a price, the dream of social housing is still out of reach,” she said.

In the case of Mr. Duy Anh, 29 years old, a technician in Hanoi, the couple encountered problems with the selling price exceeding their ability to pay even though they had capital available. He said that since getting married, with support from both parents and the money they had saved up, about 300 million VND, they planned to register to buy an apartment in a social housing area in Long Bien ward.

“A 55m2 apartment costs about 1.6 billion VND. If we borrow 1.3 billion VND for 20 years, we will have to pay about 8 million VND per month, including principal and interest. My wife and I earn more than 30 million VND, which sounds enough, but after deducting living expenses and spending for our two children, there is nothing left. Even though we have the initial capital, we still do not dare to sign for fear of being ‘drowned out’,” Duy Anh calculated.

The above real-life stories show that the major barrier today is not only the lack of initial capital, but also the selling price of social housing which is far beyond the affordability of even those with stable incomes.

According to real estate experts, the current paradox is that more and more people are eligible for income, but the actual rate of access to loans is low, due to the selling price exceeding the threshold and the high counterpart capital requirements. That makes the "social housing dream" - although closer on paper - still far away in reality.

To make social housing truly "affordable"

In reality, financial support policies are only a “temporary painkiller”. If the input prices of social housing continue to increase, from land, materials to project management costs, even if loan interest rates decrease, people will still find it difficult to afford to buy.

However, experts say that to understand why social housing is becoming more and more expensive, we need to look deeper into the factors that make up the price. According to Architect Ngo Minh Tam - Covic Consulting & Construction Joint Stock Company, the problem lies not only in the cost of materials, land or labor, but also in the implementation capacity of investors and the loose price management mechanism.

“It is impossible to demand absolutely cheap social housing when input prices are increasing, but what is more worrying is that there is a situation where progress is prolonged, costs arise, and then all of them are included in the selling price. At that time, the people are the ones who ultimately bear the cost of the delay,” Mr. Tam analyzed.

This viewpoint was also emphasized by Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh at the conference reviewing the progress of social housing in mid-October: “We need real apartments with real value to sell to people with real housing needs. Social housing prices in Hanoi are at a record high, the cause may be due to weak investor capacity or taking advantage of open policies to inflate prices. The city needs to inspect, check and control immediately so that people still have the opportunity to buy houses.”

The Deputy Minister suggested that Hanoi put the administrative procedures of social housing projects under special handling, both to speed up progress and reduce prolonged costs - one of the reasons for unreasonably rising prices.

If input prices for social housing continue to increase, from land, materials to project management costs, even if loan interest rates decrease, people will still find it difficult to afford to buy. Photo: VGP.

At the first meeting of the Central Steering Committee on housing policy and real estate market at the end of September 2025, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested ministries, branches and localities to regulate real estate and social housing prices according to real market mechanisms, suitable to people's income.

Commercial housing prices must be consistent with the nature of the market, the economy, and the conditions and capabilities of the people; the goal is to provide housing for everyone, contributing to improving the material and spiritual lives of the people.

Accordingly, there needs to be a comprehensive, all-encompassing solution; there needs to be close cooperation and coordination between the State and enterprises, between the Central and local levels, maintaining fiscal and monetary policies with land policies and other policies. The State must regulate land and real estate prices through financial instruments, especially tax, fee, charge policies and other financial policies; have mechanisms and policies to reduce interest rates and appropriate loan terms; study regulations on income levels of people who have the right to buy social housing in accordance with the situation and each locality.

The policy has opened up but the gap between income and housing prices is still a "bottleneck" that needs to be adjusted. Solving the social housing problem does not only lie in preferential numbers or income regulations, but also in controlling the selling price to make it truly "affordable". At that time, settling down will no longer be a distant dream for workers.

Source: https://vtv.vn/nha-o-xa-hoi-co-thuc-su-re-100250806130222727.htm