“Special Financing Options for Young Adults: Homeownership Made Easy.”

Housing Dreams Within Reach for Young People

In line with directives from the Government and Prime Minister’s Resolutions 46/NQ-CP, 77/NQ-CP, Directive 05/CT-TTg, and Notification 120/TB-VPCP, dated May 29, 2025, the State Bank of Vietnam has issued Document No. 4290/NHNN-TD to nine major commercial banks to implement preferential credit packages for individuals under 35 years old purchasing social housing.

The document requires commercial banks to continue promoting the social and worker housing and old apartment renovation credit programs according to Resolution 33/NQ-CP. However, for individuals under 35, more favorable interest support will be offered to enhance their access to housing.

Specifically, customers under 35 years old who sign agreements for social housing loans will enjoy an interest rate 2% lower than the average mid-and long-term VND lending rate of the four state-owned commercial banks (Agribank, BIDV, Vietcombank, and VietinBank) in the first five years from the disbursement date. As of June 30, 2025, the applicable interest rate is 6.1%/year.

After the initial five-year preferential period, borrowers will continue to benefit from an interest rate 1% lower than the above-mentioned average rate for the next ten years. Furthermore, starting July 1, 2025, the State Bank will update the interest rate periodically every six months, applicable for each specific period.

Notably, the funding for this program does not come from the state budget but from the banks themselves, which have registered to participate in the social housing program under Resolution 33. This approach ensures effective support for citizens without putting pressure on the fiscal budget.

To ensure a synchronized implementation of the policy, the State Bank requested that commercial banks urgently apply these policies starting May 31, 2025. Simultaneously, banks must enhance communication to ensure that eligible individuals are aware and can register for loans promptly. With this move, it is expected that tens of thousands of young people nationwide will have the opportunity to realize their dream of owning a home in major cities, thereby stabilizing their lives and pursuing long-term career development.

Previously, at the Conference of the Government’s Standing Committee with commercial banks to accelerate and boost growth and control inflation, and at the Conference of the Government with localities, the Prime Minister directed the establishment of credit packages to support young people (under 35) in purchasing homes, strongly promoting social housing credit.

Following the Prime Minister’s instructions, many banks quickly launched low-interest loan packages to address capital bottlenecks for homebuyers. For example, ACB introduced the “First Home” credit package for young people with preferential interest rates from 5.5%/year and a maximum loan term of 30 years. Similarly, banks like PVcomBank, SHB, and ABBank have also launched home loan packages with attractive interest rates.

BIDV also launched a VND 40,000 billion credit package to support young people in purchasing or renting homes, applicable from March 26 to December 31, 2025. With this package, customers can borrow up to 70% of the value of the intended home purchase and 50% for rental purchases. Along with competitive interest rates and a policy of waiving principal payments for up to five years, young people can rest assured and ease their debt repayment pressure. Additionally, the bank offers preferential packages for project investors, prioritizing disbursement for investors who provide price reductions for young buyers.

To effectively disburse the VND 40,000 billion credit package, the bank has optimized its processes to maximize customer support regarding loan procedures and documentation; shortened approval and disbursement times…

Promoting Social Housing Credit

At the conference on implementing Resolution 201 of the 15th National Assembly on piloting several special mechanisms and policies for social housing development, held recently, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha stated that, from the beginning of 2025, the State Bank had issued Document No. 55/NHNN-TD, allowing commercial banks participating in the social housing lending program to exclude program debt from their annual credit growth targets. Furthermore, the State Bank has continuously adjusted procedures and processes to facilitate people’s and enterprises’ access to capital.

Particularly, the State Bank has coordinated with the Ministry of Construction to organize more than ten conferences to promote the program’s implementation and issued numerous documents directing local bank branches to collaborate with local governments and project owners to resolve obstacles for specific projects. This determination reflects the banking industry’s efforts to concretize the central government’s policies at the grassroots level.

However, according to Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha, the disbursement speed has not met expectations. Reports indicate that only about 100 projects nationwide have been announced to participate in the program, of which only 53 have accessed loans. Twenty-eight projects had no borrowing needs, mainly because they did not require capital or had self-mobilized funds; the rest are in the process of appraisal or approaching banks.

“The lack of social housing supply has hindered disbursement, even though banks are ready with resources,” said Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha, explaining the situation. “Additionally, many localities have not announced the list of participating projects or have done so slowly, causing coordination challenges and a lack of information.”

To accelerate the program’s implementation, the State Bank requested that ministries and agencies urgently implement the solutions proposed in Resolution 201/2025/QH15, especially regarding the establishment of the National Housing Fund and solutions to increase supply.

The State Bank has also proposed that the Ministry of Construction coordinate with localities to assess and evaluate the housing needs of the people to develop appropriate social housing policies. Additionally, they should review and address obstacles in projects to increase the supply of social housing in the region.

Furthermore, they should collaborate to develop a concrete credit demand plan for each social housing project annually to help commercial banks proactively balance their capital for lending and avoid resource waste. It is also crucial to assess whether people in the localities prefer to buy or rent houses to develop appropriate social housing policies.

Localities, on the other hand, need to continue reviewing and promptly announcing the list of social housing, worker housing, and apartment renovation and construction projects to provide a basis for commercial banks to consider and approve loans.