After years of being considered a "difficult" segment due to low profit margins and complicated procedures, social housing is becoming a new "hot spot" in the real estate market. Not only large real estate companies, but also many industrial park developers, construction companies, and building materials suppliers are simultaneously expanding their presence in this segment.
These developments are taking place against the backdrop of the government continuously promoting the plan to develop at least 1 million social housing units in the 2021-2030 period, while also requiring localities to expedite investment procedures, allocate land funds, and remove legal obstacles for businesses.
The market size has increased significantly, but there is still a large shortage.
The development of social housing has been accelerated since the end of 2024 and has been repeatedly emphasized as a key task. In the middle of last year, the National Assembly passed a pilot resolution on a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of social housing, notably focusing on reducing and reforming administrative procedures to shorten project implementation time.
According to the Ministry of Construction , there are currently 781 social housing projects underway nationwide, comprising approximately 720,055 units. The government estimates that if the current pace is maintained, the target of completing 1 million social housing units could be achieved in 2028, about two years earlier than initially planned.
In 2026 alone, localities were assigned a target of completing 158,723 housing units. Ho Chi Minh City led with approximately 28,500 units, followed by Hanoi and many industrial provinces and cities such as Bac Ninh, Dong Nai, Hai Phong, etc. These are all localities with high housing demand due to the concentration of migrant workers and continuously rising commercial housing prices.
A notable point is that many social housing projects are now being invested in prime locations, contrary to the previous view that this segment only appeared in areas far from the city center and lacking amenities. In Hanoi, many social housing projects have been approved in urban areas such as Ciputra, Starlake, or around major roads like Nguyen Trai and Tran Thai Tong...
Although supply and product quality are beginning to improve, the gap between actual demand and existing housing supply remains very large.
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The gap between the supply and demand for social housing is still considered very large. Photo: Tuan Anh. |
In Ho Chi Minh City, the demand for social housing by 2030 is projected to be nearly 1 million units, while the supply from identified projects only reaches over 229,000 units, equivalent to less than a quarter of the demand.
In Hanoi, the sharp increase in commercial housing prices over the past four years has led to a surge in demand for social housing and affordable homes. Many projects have seen a large number of applications, with people queuing overnight to submit their applications to buy houses.
Another noteworthy point is that the proportion of rental housing – considered the most urgent segment – in the current social housing supply remains very low. According to data from the Ministry of Construction, to date, there are approximately 42,275 social housing units for rent nationwide, accounting for less than 6% of the total products in this segment.
Real estate tycoons are joining the fray.
The large market potential, coupled with a series of legal facilitation mechanisms, is making social housing an increasingly attractive segment for businesses. While previously the market was primarily developed by a few specialized enterprises, the current trend has expanded to include both state-owned corporations and large-scale private companies.
Among state-owned enterprises, familiar names in the housing market include the Housing and Urban Development Investment Corporation (HUD), Hanoi Construction Corporation (Hancorp), Becamex IDC, and others.
In particular, HUD has implemented many social housing projects in Ha Nam, Binh Duong, etc. In 2025 alone, the company started construction on 7 projects, with a total scale of nearly 1,900 apartments and a total floor area of nearly 200,000 m2, spread across many localities. The goal is to provide the market with approximately 9,000 social housing units by 2030.
Becamex IDC continues to develop social housing projects associated with industrial parks and urban areas in the former Binh Duong province. By the end of 2024, the company had handed over nearly 9,000 units for sale and rent. In the next phase, Becamex IDC plans to develop more than 40,000 additional units.
Meanwhile, Hancorp also previously announced its goal of developing 10,000 social housing units in Hanoi, Ninh Binh, and Dong Nai.
In the private sector, Vingroup has attracted attention with its Happy Home brand and its plan to develop 500,000 social housing units in Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Khanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City, and Tay Ninh. If completed, this number would be equivalent to half of the national social housing target for the 2021-2030 period.
Viglacera continues to be one of the largest social housing developers in the market, especially in the worker housing segment in Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Quang Ninh, and Hanoi. The company stated that it has prepared land for investment in approximately 10,000 units this year. Last year, Viglacera completed about 8,000 social housing units, equivalent to 8% of the total number of units completed nationwide.
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A social housing project invested by Viglacera in Bac Ninh. Photo: VGC. |
Billionaire Tran Dinh Long's Hoa Phat Group is also actively developing social housing and worker housing in connection with industrial parks. Most recently, the group commenced construction of a worker housing and social housing complex in Yen My II Industrial Park with a total investment of nearly 5,000 billion VND . The project is planned to serve the accommodation needs of tens of thousands of workers in the northern industrial region.
One of the new names investing in this type of real estate is Hoa Sen Group, owned by Mr. Le Phuoc Vu. Recently, the company announced plans to develop approximately 20,000 social housing units for workers and laborers in Ho Chi Minh City between 2026 and 2030. This is considered a notable comeback for the "king of steel" after many years of withdrawing from the real estate sector. Following its new direction, Hoa Sen focuses on social housing, worker housing, and projects linked to industrial infrastructure, instead of its previous scattered development.
Meanwhile, Sun Group – one of the largest private real estate corporations – has also begun expanding into the social housing segment through projects in Ninh Binh (formerly Ha Nam province). The company aims to develop social housing complexes with integrated amenities in several major cities and industrial zones, instead of the purely low-cost housing model as before.
Several other real estate companies such as Hoang Quan, Le Thanh, Nam Long, Taseco Land, Ha Do, Hai Phat Invest... have also announced or are in the process of announcing investment plans in the social housing segment.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hai Phat Invest, said that the company decided to enter this segment due to high market demand and liquidity, even though the profit margin is not as attractive as commercial housing.
"In the near future, the company expects to receive approval to implement medium-scale social housing projects in Hanoi and surrounding provinces," he said.
There are still many bottlenecks.
Speaking to Tri Thức - Znews , Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Business Association (VARS), said that the market is entering a phase of significant change in supply and demand structure. While previously businesses mainly focused on the mid- and high-end housing segments due to better profit margins, social housing is now beginning to be recognized as a market with significant real demand and less dependence on speculative cycles.
However, this segment still faces many bottlenecks. Long investment procedures, limited availability of clean land, and constrained profit margins are factors that deter many businesses from investing heavily.
Furthermore, the allocation of 20% of land for social housing within commercial projects remains uneven across localities. The credit issue has also not been fully resolved, as access to preferential loan packages remains limited for both developers and homebuyers.
According to Mr. Dinh, the entry of many large enterprises could create significant changes in the social housing market, not only in terms of supply scale but also in product quality. Unlike before, many social housing projects are now more systematically invested in infrastructure, amenities, and design, even approaching the standards of common commercial apartments.
Nevertheless, to achieve the target of 1 million social housing units in the 2028-2030 period, the market still needs significant policy changes, especially shortening the approval process, creating clean land funds, stabilizing credit capital sources, and increasing reasonable profit margins for businesses.
"The market demand is almost certainly real and very large. The current issue is not about output but about the speed of project implementation," Mr. Dinh said.
Source: https://znews.vn/van-bai-moi-cua-cac-dai-gia-dia-oc-post1654385.html
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