Foreign investment are continuously poured into the real estate market in southern localities, resulting in the emergence of a series of new property projects in the past eight months.

Taxing second and subsequent homes and tightening lending to real estate buyers should only be considered if the move causes negative effects to the market, according to Nguyen Van Dinh, deputy chair of the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VREA).

Recent proposals by the Ministry of Construction and the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association to tax second homes have reignited a fervent debate, highlighting potential drawbacks that could overshadow the intended benefits.

While some real estate companies have paid large dividends to investors, many others in the sector still have to struggle to rotate capital sources to pay debts and reinvest.

The Ministry of Construction predicts a 15-20% rise in housing prices following the update of Vietnam's land price index to reflect market values more accurately.

The domestic real estate market is evolving in a progressively positive direction, as evidenced by numerous businesses striving to resolve lingering issues from the previous phase.

The Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department has issued a tax enforcement order for Thuduc House, demanding nearly $4 million in late payment penalties related to a $15 million VAT refund tied to an electronics smuggling case.

In response to rampant real estate speculation and skyrocketing housing prices, the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association (VARS) is pushing for the implementation of taxes on second properties.

Vietnam ranked 49th out of 89 economies in term of real estate transparency, according to a recent global real estate transparency index (GRETI) 2024 rankings by global property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

Vietnam is described as an ideal location for industrial real estate investment with its economic and demographic factors, and analysts predict it will emerge as a regional leader in this segment.

Vietnam is grappling with significant real estate inventory that could comprise nearly 80 per cent of some developers’ assets, raising concerns of potential bad debt and macroeconomic stability, experts warned.

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.

Students from small provinces have been flocking to Hanoi to register at universities and prepare for their 4-year study in the large city.

Despite global uncertainties, Vietnam, with its strong fundamentals, continues to remain resilient and attractive to foreign investors, as confirmed by the property research firm CBRE.

In the bustling heart of Hanoi, a 4m² house has become the subject of intrigue and amazement. Despite its tiny size, the owner recently turned down an offer of VND 4 billion.

Though analysts said the gloomy period of the real estate market is over, real estate firms keep complaining about difficulties.

Starting August 1, 2024, three key laws - the 2024 Land Law, the amended Housing Law, and the amended Real Estate Business Law came into effect.

More than 17,100 apartments and land plots of real estate projects across the country remain on the market in the second quarter of this year, with land plots and houses doubling that of apartments.

HOREA (HCM City Real Estate Association) Chair Le Hoang Chau says a big gap still exists between prices announced by local authorities and market prices, though authorities have raised prices within the land price framework.

Foreign investors injected more than 2.87 billion USD into the Vietnamese realty market during January-July, a year-on-year surge of 78%, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)’s Foreign Investment Agency.