Despite facing challenges, the real estate market in 2019 is expected to continue on an upward trend, say both experts and investors.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, real estate business ranked second in size since early this year, with total registered capital of $6.5 billion in 87 new registered projects.
“With foreign direct investment (FDI) being funneled into the real estate sector, Vietnam remains an attractive destination for real estate investment in 2019 and beyond. It is because the demand for residential real estate, industrial zone infrastructure, trade centres, and resort real estate remains high,” said Nguyen Tran Nam, chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association.
According to the country’s housing development strategy, the average housing area of the nation will reach 25 square metres per capita by 2020. To achieve this goal, 100 million sq.m of new housing will be built each year, 70% of which will be in urban areas.
In Ho Chi Minh City, 65 projects with the total of more than 22,600 units and over 1,000 low-rise buildings were launched to the market in 2019. Of these, affordable housing occupy more than 4,500 units, or 19% of the total. The high-end housing has shown the first sign of oversupply with more than 11,700 units, or 31.3%.
“There is a serious shortage of affordable and social housing for the market, especially cheap units for leasing which are affordable for the majority of the people. This is a warning sign for the market,” said Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association.
Between the beginning of 2017 and October this year, the outskirt areas of the future Long Thanh International Airport and the three future special economic zones of Van Don, North Van Phong, and Phu Quoc suffered from so-called land fever and the accompanying surge in prices.
New housing types have appeared in Vietnam such as condotels, hometels, officetels, serviced apartments, and shophouses. Some of these projects have not been registered with authorised agencies and pose high risks to investors. However, the larger market has not shown any signs of house or land fever yet.
According to CBRE senior director Dung Duong, the real estate market in 2018 has seen positive developments, especially with foreign buyers increasing their presence in Vietnam. Some 76% of CBRE’s successful transactions involved overseas buyers.
In the leasing market, a shortage of supply in recent years in Ho Chi Minh City has opened many opportunities for developers.
The shortage of supply has increased prices at offices for lease. Leasing rental now is averages at US$43 per sq.m per month in Grade A, an increase of 17% compared to last year.
“Ho Chi Minh City is now ranked among the top 40 cities in the world which have the most expensive offices for lease,” Dung said.
The protectionism and trade war between some big countries have also had an impact on Vietnam and can slow down global economic growth and reduce aggregate demand.
On the positive side, the Asian region still retains its growth potential, especially in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, which are expected to have the highest growth rate, attracting more investment.
Particularly, after the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership comes into effect in early 2019, Vietnam will have a positive impact on the industrial property market, the office leasing market, and rental apartments.
However, there remain key bottlenecks for the real estate market, including land bidding procedures, land clearance and compensation, calculating land-use fees, tightening credit policy from the State Bank of Vietnam, and complicated administrative procedures.
Under Document No. 10065/VPCP-KGVX, the Deputy PM agreed with proposals by the Ministry of Home Affairs for a one-day holiday for Vietnamese Culture Day in 2026, and a seven-day Tet holiday and a four-day National Day holiday in 2027.
By 2030, Vietnam aims to rank among the world’s top 40 in the GII; raise total social investment in R&D to at least 2% of GDP, with non-State funding accounting for over 60%; increase international scientific publications by an average of 10% annually; and raise the number of patent applications and granted patents by an average of 16-18% annually.
The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 25,624 VND/USD on October1, down 3 VND from the previous day.
Quang Ninh's GRDP grew 15.04% in the third quarter, also leading the country.
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Experts from the Institute of Vietnam and World Economy under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences noted the quality of recent growth as the high growth rate has been recorded against an increasingly higher comparative base.
Vietnam's Halal exports remain modest at around 900 million USD a year, accounting for less than 1% of the global market. Most exports are still raw agricultural and seafood products. Only around 1,000–1,300 Vietnamese businesses obtained or maintained Halal certification during 2024–2026.
Vietnam needs a comprehensive policy framework to remove legal and procedural bottlenecks and create conditions for offshore wind power projects to access long-term investment capital, helping to unlock the country’s substantial offshore wind potential, said insiders.
Under a decision of the municipal People’s Committee on establishing an inter-agency working group, departments and agencies are responsible for identifying facilities subject to greenhouse gas inventories, developing emissions-reduction plans and studying projects capable of generating carbon credits.
According to data from the Vietnam Customs cited by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), shrimp exports reached 478.5 million USD in August, up 4.2% from the same month last year. The eight-month total stood at 3.3 billion USD, representing a year-on-year increase of 12%.
Vietnam is seen as a potential market, with considerable room for growth in real estate, particularly commercial property, compared with some regional markets. Strong Vietnam-Russia ties and opportunities to establish foreign-invested enterprises are also considered favourable for Russian investors.
For 2021-2030, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam proposed bringing forward the investment in a parallel taxiway system and a connecting taxiway north of Runway No. 2 at Phu Quoc International Airport, in order to connect with the aircraft maintenance and repair facility (hangar) planned for the northern area of the airport.
For LNG-fired power to fulfill its role in Vietnam’s energy transition, bottlenecks in institutions, infrastructure, electricity pricing, PPAs, power dispatch and financing must be addressed together.
From policy and infrastructure to industrial real estate, Vietnam’s FDI advantages are broadening towards a more integrated production ecosystem, offering investors a stronger combination of conditions for high-value, technology-intensive and long-term projects.
As trade expands, systemic bottlenecks across transport networks, warehousing, ports, border gates, and industrial zones are becoming more apparent. Experts emphasise the need to shift from a fragmented, project-by-project approach toward strategic management structured around trade corridors and integrated supply chains.
The company will buy non-performing loans from credit institutions and foreign bank branches, recover and dispose of debts and collateral, restructure loans and support lenders in resolving bad debts.
Do Ngoc Hung, Trade Counsellor and head of the Vietnam Trade Office in the US, said what stands out is not only the growth in trade volume but also the increasingly deep economic ties between the two countries.
According to the Ministry of Finance, State budget revenue in the first eight months of 2026 was estimated at 2.02 quadrillion VND (77.7 billion USD), equivalent to 80% of the annual estimate and up 16% year-on-year. Domestic revenue reached 1.75 quadrillion VND, accounting for 86.6% of total revenue and rising 16.6%.
Hanoi aims to achieve average annual export growth of at least 12% during 2026-30, with the city seeking to diversify export markets, boost high-tech and value-added products and reduce reliance on traditional markets.