More than 12,300 units were bought by foreign buyers after five years

August 15, 2020 | 11:17

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More than 12,300 units in Vietnam's major cities were bought by foreign buyers in the five years since the Vietnamese government authorised foreign property ownership.

According to the first-ever figures released by the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HOREA), from 2015 to 2020, 17 giant real estate developers have sold a total of more than 12,300 units to foreign individuals and organisations. Of these, more than 10,000 units were sold in Ho Chi Minh City, occupying 81.2 per cent.

more than 12300 units were bought by foreign buyers after five years

Property ownership was authorised five years ago in Vietnam

“This figure was coming from 17 giant developers only. We estimate the real figures to be somewhere between 14,000 to 16,000 units from all developers,” said Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HOREA, adding that this figure was relatively modest compared to the 157,000 units built in the market every year.

In reality, foreign buyers have bought in the high-end and luxury segments only, he said, with many projects reaching the quota of 30 per cent of units available for foreign buyers. Among those are Gateway Thao Dien, Nassim, and Thao Dien Pearl.

Developers and agents which are dominating the market for foreign buyers are Vingroup, Novaland, Phu My Hung, CBRE, and Hung Thinh.

Regulations on foreign property ownership in Vietnam

The new Law on Housing (LoH) and Law on Real Estates Business (LoREB) were adopted by Vietnam’s National Assembly on November 26, 2014. Both laws took effect on July 1, 2015.

The new LoH allows all foreigners who have a visa to enter Vietnam, as well as foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) to buy project houses in Vietnam. The ownership rights include the right to use, sell, mortgage, or contribute houses as capital to an entity.

Four significant restrictions for foreigners should be noted:

1. Foreigners owning houses outside of projects (for example, a townhouse or villa built by individuals but not in a real estate project) is not allowed. Foreign buyers can also buy units from developers only.

2. The total foreign house ownership may not exceed 250 separate houses in a ward or 30 per cent of condominiums in an apartment building.

3. The time of ownership is 50 years from the date of obtaining the Land Use Right and Property Ownership Certificate (LURPOC), which may be extended.

4. Foreigners who buy houses or condominium units from leased land may only lease houses.

5. Payment must be made by bank transfer.

Source: LNT Partners

Outstanding developers selling units to foreigners

	Name of developers	Number of units
1	Vingroup	4,918
2	Novaland	1,825
3	Phu My Hung Development Corporation	1,600
4	CBRE	1,300
5	Hung Thinh Group	928
6	TNR Holdings Vietnam	360
7	TC Group	257
8	Son Kim Land	215
9	Phuc Khang Construction and Investment JSC	180
10	Dai Quang Minh Real Estate JSC	129