Foreigners allowed to own homes in 22 commercial housing projects
Foreigners allowed to own homes in 22 commercial housing projects
The Ha Noi Department of Construction has listed 22 Ha Noi Department of Constructions, some complete and some under construction, where foreigners can own homes. 
They include four projects in Ha Dong District, like the Van Phu Invest’s Terra An Hung project, Military Petrochemical Joint Stock Company’s housing project in Kien Hung Ward and Capitaland - Hoang Thanh apartment, commercial and service complex.
Long Bien District has three projects, including a high-end apartment building in the Sai Dong New Urban Area and the Plaschem apartment, commercial and office complex.
Thanh Xuan District has two projects, the Stellar Garden Apartment Complex and Nguyen Tuan DLC Complex Project.
Hoang Mai District has the Rose Tower project, while Hoai Duc District has two projects in Nam An Khanh urban area.
In addition, there are other projects in Nam Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Bac Tu Liem and Gia Lam districts, such as the Ha Noi Paragon Project in Cau Giay and an office, commercial and residential complex in Ba Dinh, reported the Kinh te do thi (Urban Economy) newspaper.
From November 2019 until May 2020, the capital city also listed 26 other commercial housing projects where foreigners can buy homes.
Currently, foreigners in Viet Nam can own up to 30 per cent of apartments in some projects, but demand has far exceeded this level.
Therefore, the Viet Nam Real Estate Brokers Association has proposed the Government consider increasing the foreign ownership cap in high-end apartment projects
Tran Minh Hoang, Deputy General Secretary of Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, told zingnews.vn that foreigners’ demand for real estate in Viet Nam is increasing, especially for high-end apartments and resorts.
Foreigners with large amounts of capital are not really interested in middle-class and affordable products like Vietnamese people, according to Hoang. Therefore, they will not compete with local people in the apartment market as products targeting the two groups of customers are different.
Viet Nam is an attractive destination for foreigners due to its favourable geographical position and great potential for tourism development, while real estate is competitively priced and profitable.
For instance, according to Savills Viet Nam, the price of new houses in HCM City averages US$5,500 - 6,500 per sq.m. Overall, apartment prices in both HCM City and Ha Noi are still lower than regional markets such as Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
The State should increase the foreign ownership caps in apartment projects to attract capital, increase market transparency and stimulate socio-economic development, Hoang said.
He also said this proposal should not be considered a short-term solution to restore the property market in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era but should be a long-term solution.
This would increase liquidity and reduce inventories in the market, said Nguyen Khanh Duy, director of HCM City Residential Sales, Savills Vietnam. However, the State must consider carefully because it can affect Vietnamese people’s market shares, he cautioned.
