Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has recently signed a Prime Minister decision regarding the reduction of land rental fees for 2023.

Real estate attracted 1.94 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months of this year, accounting for about 9.6% of total FDI to Vietnam in the period.

Hanoi and HCM City continue to attract investors thanks to the competitive rental costs for offices and high-end retail spaces, accompanied by a high occupancy rate in the region, according to Savills Vietnam.

An appropriate deposit level for property auctions is critical to prevent price inflation and speculation, experts have said.

A group of bondholders led by Ad Hoc Group has asked Novaland to negotiate debt restructuring in good faith related to the unpaid interest of $7.8 million from the lot of bonds worth $300 million issued by Novaland in the international market.

Despite the Government’s efforts to address them, the challenges for the property market will continue until the end of next year, experts have warned.

Many real estate corporations such as GP.Invest, Hai Phat, Son Kim, Geleximco and TNR Holding are named in the 2023 specialized inspection list of the General Department of Taxation.

Tourism real estate is still attempting to get on the front foot amid reduced selling prices and slow liquidity.

Real estate firms SonKim, Hai Phat Invest, Van Phuc, and Bitexco, are among 42 companies listed for specialised audits this year, according to the GDT.

A number of businesses have reported losses or profit decreases of up to trillions of dong after biannual reviews, though they had reported large profits before. But this was not a surprise, especially for real estate firms.

The global economic slowdown, the impact COVID-19 pandemic, and internal difficulties have put Vietnam’s real estate market in a tough situation.

New foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals in the real estate sector in the first eight months of this year amounted to US$1.76 billion, down by more than 47% against the year-ago period.

Housing prices in Hanoi are 18 times higher than locals’ average incomes, while the figure is 32 times higher in HCM City. The indicators are much higher than other big cities in the region, including Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore, according to Savills.

The rise in non-performing loans within the real estate sector has become a cause for alarm as the bad debt ratio escalated from 1.53% in the previous year to 2.47% during the first half of 2023.

The establishment of a land use rights trading floor will help this market operate in an open, transparent, healthy and sustainable manner, said experts.

In recent years, investing in shophouses has been a popular trend in cities like Hanoi and HCM City.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) several months ago enacted a legal document to make it easier for real estate companies to get bank loans, but the legal effort has not worked out as intended.

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

A wave of foreign businesses are coming to learn about potential real estate projects in Vietnam to carry out mergers and acquisitions (M&As).

Vietnam's real estate sector has emerged as a highly desirable destination for international investors, ranking second only to the manufacturing and processing industry, with over 1,100 projects amounting to $66.4 billion of foreign investment.