Progress of social housing phase 1 is difficult to 'reach the finish line': Why?

(CLO) It is expected that by the end of the year, the whole country will only have about 149,681 social housing apartments, equivalent to 35% of the plan for phase 1 of the project to develop 1 million social housing apartments.

According to a report by the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARs), by the end of the third quarter of 2025, 692 social housing projects were being implemented nationwide, with a total scale of about 633,559 apartments, equivalent to 59.6% of the target of the Project to develop 1 million social housing units by 2030.

Of which, 165 projects have been completed, with a scale of 110,436 units, reaching 25.8% of the phase 1 plan; an increase of 91.6% compared to statistics at the end of 2024.

Progress in implementing phase 1 of social housing is difficult to 'reach the finish line'. (Illustration photo)

In addition, the country also has 147 projects that have started construction and are being implemented with a scale of 135,033 apartments. At the same time, 380 projects have been approved for investment, with a scale of 388,090 apartments.

In the first 9 months of 2025 alone, the country has completed 43,681 social housing apartments. It is expected that by the end of 2025, 39,245 more apartments will be completed.

However, VARs commented that although the Government and ministries have made great efforts in implementing the Project, with the current progress, the target for the 2021-2025 period is unlikely to be completed. It is expected that by the end of the year, the whole country will only reach about 149,681 apartments, equivalent to 35% of the plan.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of VARs, said that the biggest reason for the slow progress of social housing is that there is not yet an attractive enough mechanism for businesses to participate.

“It is necessary to determine that the highest and most important goal of a business is profit. Without profit, a business cannot survive, let alone develop,” said Mr. Dinh.

Therefore, the Chairman of VARs frankly expressed his opinion that if businesses are forced to participate in building social housing without a mechanism to ensure minimum profits and not help them maintain operations, no one will dare to do it.

“That is the answer to why we set so many targets for social housing development, but the progress is very slow,” Mr. Dinh emphasized.

Mr. Dinh added that the problem lies in the fact that Vietnam has not created a mechanism that is attractive enough for businesses to participate. If we want them to do it, we must have a way to respond and balance interests, so that businesses can clearly see the effectiveness and have the motivation to participate, only then can the program become practical.

“In reality, it is impossible to simply “designate” a number of businesses to build social housing without specific support policies. If the mechanism is not clear and the benefits are not guaranteed, then no matter how much you “invite”, businesses will not participate, that is for sure,” he said.

Also according to current regulations, each commercial housing project must reserve about 20% of its land fund for the development of social housing or affordable housing. This is both a legal obligation and a demonstration of the social responsibility of the enterprise, contributing to ensuring the goal of social security and sustainable development of the Vietnamese real estate market.

Source: https://congluan.vn/tien-do-thuc-hien-nha-o-xa-hoi-giai-doan-1-kho-ve-dich-vi-sao-10314791.html