On October 11th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the Central Steering Committee for Housing Policies and Real Estate Market, chaired the second meeting of the Committee. The session focused on discussing breakthrough developments in social housing.
In his opening remarks, the Prime Minister emphasized, “Advancing social housing and resolving outstanding issues in real estate development are two closely intertwined challenges.”
According to the Government’s leader, over the past period, the Government has implemented numerous solutions to address difficulties, promptly promote investment projects, increase housing supply across all segments, and tighten land management, auctions, pricing, and timely handling of market manipulation, speculation, and price hikes.
However, many legal regulations, mechanisms, and policies on social housing and real estate market development have not kept pace with reality. The supply of affordable commercial housing and social housing remains limited, and project implementation progress is slow.
“Housing prices in major cities are still far beyond the affordability of the majority of the population. There are instances of price manipulation, artificial pricing, and market misinformation for profiteering, with some developers setting unusually high prices compared to the general market,” the Prime Minister noted.
Notably, in response to the opinion that some provinces “have no need for social housing,” the Prime Minister firmly rebutted, “No province lacks the need; the issue is finding the right approach. If any locality genuinely has no need, it is highly welcomed, and we request a clear report.”
The Government’s leader also emphasized that social housing is not limited to high-rise buildings but can include low-rise structures. Social housing should not be located in remote areas but must have adequate infrastructure for transportation, electricity, water, telecommunications, social services, healthcare, culture, and education.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaking at the meeting (Photo: VGP).
According to the Prime Minister, the goal of completing 100,000 social housing units by 2025 is a significant challenge. Among the 34 localities assigned targets, 22 are expected to meet or exceed their plans, but 8 still risk falling short.
The Prime Minister questioned why, under the same mechanisms and policies, some localities perform well while others lag. He urged ministries, sectors, and localities to draw practical lessons and identify institutional and procedural bottlenecks in social housing development and real estate transactions.
To achieve the goal, the Prime Minister outlined specific action directions: Increase the supply of social housing and affordable commercial housing; Reduce investment costs by cutting procedures, input costs, and administrative expenses; Apply reasonable tax policies to curb speculation and price manipulation.
Additionally, credit allocation should prioritize capital for social housing projects and buyers while controlling capital flows into speculative segments that exploit policy loopholes.
The Prime Minister expressed hope that after the meeting, some Government, ministerial, and local authorities would be resolved immediately. If issues persist, proposals should be submitted to the National Assembly at the upcoming session for a resolution to further address challenges.
“The spirit is not to let institutional obstacles hinder effective social housing deployment to meet the current vast demand. We must innovate thinking, act decisively, maintain high determination, make significant efforts, identify key priorities, learn as we go, expand gradually, avoid perfectionism, and not rush,” the Prime Minister stressed.
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