Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed local and national authorities to address irregularities in land auctions, targeting collusion and price manipulation that destabilize Vietnam's real estate market.

Five individuals have been detained in Hanoi for orchestrating a scheme to manipulate land auctions, including placing a record bid of VND 30 billion ($1.18 million) per square meter.

High-value plots in Ho Chi Minh City’s downtown, often referred to as "golden land," have been left abandoned for years, wasting prime development opportunities.

As of June 2024, HCM City had reclaimed 35 houses and public land plots as agencies no longer have demand for use. However, many land plots located in advantageous positions have been left idle for many years.

The award price of VND133 million per sq m at a land auction in Hoai Duc district in Hanoi has stirred up the public as it was much higher than the starting price set by local authorities.

As the 2024 Land Law takes effect, Ho Chi Minh City has identified the need to revise its current land price table, which was implemented on January 16, 2020.

The land price frameworks set by local authorities in some cities and provinces are much lower than market prices as local authorities have been slow in updating information about pricing.

A new profession has appeared in Vietnam – land price inflator or bidding buyers at land auctions, who artificially push land prices up and then resell the auctioned land at high prices for profit.

In response to evolving real estate dynamics, Ho Chi Minh City is poised to adjust its land pricing framework.

Investors and brokers have seized on these figures to justify price hikes across Hanoi, raising concerns about a speculative bubble forming.

The HCM City Department of Natural Resources and the Environment said the new land price framework will adequately assess real estate market prices and won’t lead to property price increases.

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has requested information about the assets of 11 individuals involved in the case of the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG), and to stop business transactions of these people.

The Vietnamese Government agreed on Friday to propose that the National Assembly put the Law on Land, the Law on Housing and the Law on Real Estate Business into force from July 1 this year.

In November 2023, the National Assembly- passed new Law No. 29/2023/QH15 on Real Estate Business and the Housing Law 2023 which will come into effect from 1 January 2025 are expected to help the real estate market develop sustainably.

The domestic real estate market will have four land valuation methods instead of the current five methods, according to a new decree issued by the Government on February 5.

The compensation prices for land coverage remain significantly below the market rates, and the procedures for land recovery and compensation for damages during land recovery lack transparency.

If localities had identified tourism as a key local economic engine, then tourism projects should be granted their appropriate standing among the socio-economic development priorities.

The prime minister has directed two ministries to jointly explore the feasibility of establishing a trading platform for land use rights.

The HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed auctioning dozens of land plots and a staggering 3,790 apartment units in Thu Thiem New Urban Area, just opposite to the central business district.