The New Homeowner Generation: Will ACB’s Bold Move to Lend to Young Buyers End Millennial Marriage and Birthrate Blues?

A report by the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association (VARS) assessed that young people are “reluctant to marry and have children” as the average income of workers fails to keep up with rising house prices. At the same time, the association emphasized that young people have not even started striving to buy a house, and have already considered it a distant dream.

In fact, this was reflected in the report “Rapid Population Aging Trends in Vietnam” by the General Statistics Office. Specifically, the report emphasized that in 2023 and 2024, Vietnam’s birth rate began to show signs of a faster decline.

In 2023, the country’s total fertility rate was 1.96 children per woman and fell further to 1.91 children per woman in 2024. Ho Chi Minh City had the lowest birth rate in the country (1.39 children per woman).

Facing this situation, the Prime Minister has requested the State Bank and commercial banks to research and continue to offer preferential credit packages for both supply and demand to develop housing for young people aged 35 and under.

Following the Prime Minister’s request, Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) quickly became the first bank to announce the implementation of the “First Home” loan package for young people with a long loan term of up to 30 years, a fixed interest rate for the first period of up to 5 years, and an interest rate of only 5.5%/year.

ACB representatives also emphasized that young customers aged 18-35 with stable jobs and regular monthly incomes can consider buying a house. With stable employment and a long working time ahead, the risk of the loan is quite low.

On the other hand, the “first home” can also be considered a financial solution to meet the needs of young people for housing, stabilize their lives, and focus on career development. At the same time, the high expectations of young people about owning “their own home” are entirely in line with the “stable career and happy family” mentality and the traditions of Vietnamese people.

Previously, the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) sent a document to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Construction, proposing a number of solutions to promote the real estate market.

HoREA proposed that the State Bank create a credit incentive mechanism for young people aged 18-45 who buy low-cost commercial houses for the first time, with an interest rate of 6-7% per year. At the same time, the loan is guaranteed by the purchased property, and the interest rate incentive period lasts from 10-15 years.

Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of HoREA, said that applying preferential interest rates would increase young people’s access to housing:

“The goal of this proposal is to support middle-income young people to access housing and encourage enterprises to invest in affordable housing segments, which are currently scarce in the market.”

“In addition, most young people are ambitious, have a long way to go in their careers and repay their debts, and usually, after about 10-15 years, their income will double or more, so there is almost no risk for commercial banks to lend.”