Housing prices exceed accumulation
Nguyen Thi Hang (28 years old) - an accountant at a logistics company in Cau Giay district, Hanoi - is still living with her husband in a 30m2 rented room in a small alley in Nam Tu Liem district. Although both husband and wife have stable jobs with a total income of nearly 25 million VND/month, after nearly 6 years of saving, they have not been able to buy a commercial apartment in Hanoi.
"Now there is only hope for social housing. I read information about some projects preparing to be implemented in the suburbs, if I am lucky enough to be approved, my husband and I can buy an apartment of about 70 square meters for less than 1.5 billion VND. However, the number of projects is small and competition is very high, so the possibility of my family being able to buy them is very low, Ms. Hang shared.
In reality, most young people under the age of 35 have only worked for about 10 years - a period of time that is not long enough to accumulate enough finances for large real estate investments. Meanwhile, housing prices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have increased rapidly over the past 10 years, far exceeding the rate of increase in workers' income.
Ms. Cao Thi Thanh Huong - Senior Manager, Consulting and Research Department, Savills HCMC - said that the primary price of apartments in HCMC in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased by 40% year-on-year, while the average income growth rate of workers nationwide according to the General Statistics Office in 2024 was only 8.6%.
Owning a mid-range apartment now becomes difficult for a young couple to access if they do not have support from their family or suitable credit packages. Many people have to choose to rent a room for a long time or accept living together for many generations to reduce financial pressure.
Faced with this situation, the Government has required banks to have specific credit policies, suitable for first-time home buyers, especially young people. According to Ms. Huong, the loan packages should last from 20 to 30 years, equivalent to the entire labor cycle of borrowers to help them reduce the burden of monthly repayment.
The expert also recommends that young people should not take risks with too much money. A stable installment payment of about 1/3 of income will be much more feasible than the rate of half of income or more - the threshold that is making many young couples feel " exhausted". In the current context, the safe loan level should be considered as a maximum of 50% of the property value - a level that can reduce financial and psychological risks in the long term.
Expectations from social housing policies and urban infrastructure
Currently, young people and low-income people can completely expect to fulfill their dream of owning a house with positive information from the Government's housing policy as well as urban infrastructure projects being urgently implemented.
Ms. Huong assessed: Positive changes from the legal system such as the Land Law, Housing Law or Real Estate Business Law have contributed to unblocking the investment flow in social housing and affordable housing. The target of 1 million social housing units by 2030 is a huge expectation but is completely feasible if the State, businesses and credit institutions join hands.
Meanwhile, investment in urban infrastructure, typically Metro lines in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, is also opening up opportunities to expand people from the core area of the city, creating conditions for people to access the suburbs with reasonable costs and convenient travel, housing needs will also be shared.
However, financial support packages for home ownership should not stop at young people under the age of 35. According to Ms. Huong, the current banking system is still reserved for borrowers over 45 years old with low incomes because of the short remaining working time, income can decrease with many credit risks.
However, from the perspective of social security, housing needs regardless of age, credit support policies need to be designed with multiple layers, flexible according to each age group, circumstances and financial capacity to ensure that all people have the opportunity to settle down.
The homeownership credit package for young people is not only a financial solution, but also a "key" to solving the problem of settling down and stabilizing society in the long term. To be able to do this, it will require the synchronous participation of the State, banks and businesses.
