Ho Chi Minh City: Real estate loans of nearly 1.1 million billion VND

Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam, Region 2 Branch, shared at the Forum. Photo: YL

Home loans increase sharply

At the Forum "Special mechanisms and capital flows for the real estate market" held on April 9 in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam, Region 2 Branch, said that as of the end of February 2025, the total outstanding real estate credit in Ho Chi Minh City reached nearly 1.1 million billion VND, accounting for about 28% of the total outstanding credit in the area and increasing by 1.15% compared to the end of 2024 (higher than the growth rate of general credit in the area in the first 2 months of the year).

Particularly for the housing lending segment, in the first two months of the year, the credit institution system in Ho Chi Minh City also had positive growth. Accordingly, in January 2025, housing credit increased by 0.51% and in February 2025, it increased by 0.16%.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh said that the credit growth in the real estate sector in general and housing in particular as mentioned above is positive, has an impact on promoting the recovery of the real estate market, and at the same time contributes significantly to the implementation of the national housing strategy.

Specifically, consumer real estate loans and loans for residential purposes account for the highest proportion (66% of total outstanding real estate credit in the area), proving that people have a need for loans and have had good access to capital from credit institutions. Housing credit (including social housing, commercial housing, other housing...) reached over 600,000 billion VND, up 7.39% over the same period, also reinforcing this argument.

In addition, real estate credit for production, business, trade and services currently has a good growth rate and is higher than the general real estate credit growth rate. Of which, loans for industrial parks and export processing zones reached about VND 56,550 billion by the end of February 2025, an increase of 33% over the same period in 2024; loans for construction, repair, investment in the development of restaurants, hotels, tourist areas, ecology and resorts reached VND 28,068 billion, an increase of 44.4% over the same period.

“Real estate debt is growing in line with the growth and development of trade, services and tourism activities, associated with production, business and trade services activities. This growth has a positive and comprehensive effect, helping to promote the recovery of the real estate market, while contributing significantly to the implementation of the national housing strategy,” Mr. Lenh emphasized.

Sharing the same view, Dr. Truong Van Phuoc, former Acting Chairman of the National Financial Supervision Committee, said that, in terms of bank credit alone, the current credit policies for real estate in general and housing in particular of the banking sector can be considered "acceptable" and are being "poured" into market needs.

Mr. Phuoc said that although there are still many concerns related to the issue of long-term credit funding for real estate projects, infrastructure, and commercial real estate segments and types. However, the issue of bad debt for real estate loans needs a more open approach so that the market can self-regulate.

“The key issue to remove the bottleneck of capital sources for the real estate market is to coordinate financial mechanisms and solutions, mobilize capital outside of credit; promptly implement specific mechanisms for financial centers, quickly complete legal documents related to corporate bonds, project bonds, mobilize socialization, and public-private partnership,” Mr. Phuoc acknowledged.

“Cure the elderly” for the real estate market

Comparing the health of the real estate market in Vietnam to an old person's body, financial economist , Professor Tran Ngoc Tho said that currently, the real estate market in localities is suffering from three common diseases: "high blood pressure", "high blood sugar" and "high cholesterol".

Specifically, the symptom of “high blood pressure” in the real estate market is reflected in the aspect of housing prices that are beyond the tolerance of home buyers. With current housing prices, people who save for hundreds of years still do not have enough money to buy a house, so credit support policies and incentives do not have much effect.

Regarding the disease of “high blood sugar”, Professor Tho said that currently, most of the capital sources of real estate segments and projects depend too much on credit from banks. This is like a person with high blood sugar.

"If you do not actively abstain from sweets, and combine dieting and medication (and mobilize other sources of funding to support), it is very easy to have a stroke," Mr. Tho said.

Regarding the symptom of “high cholesterol”, according to Mr. Tho, the current inventory in the real estate sector can be considered quite risky. Enterprises, investors, and localities need to calculate the demand for each segment, lower selling prices, and release cash flow to limit the impact of bad debt arising silently, which can lead to chain breakdown.

In addition, it is necessary to create breakthrough mechanisms so that "doctors" in the fiscal and monetary sector can boldly "step out of their comfort zone" and design specific policies to create a sustainable capital market for real estate and housing.

To expand capital sources for the real estate market, Dr. Truong Van Phuoc said that Vietnam needs to learn more from the experience of other countries in the region in balancing domestic demand and calculating the allocation of investment capital for the real estate sector. As for the credit sector, banks and credit institutions should decide for themselves according to market mechanisms.

In addition, according to real estate businesses, there should be more incentive and preferential mechanisms so that investors have the resources to develop low-end housing types. Regarding capital, in addition to bank loans, there should be more funds to prioritize the development of social housing.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-cho-vay-linh-vuc-bat-dong-san-gan-11-trieu-ty-dong-162514.html