Priority should be given to social housing, homes within people’s means, and projects serving genuine housing demand, while cash flows into highly speculative segments must be closely controlled. The move by some banks to cut interest rates and extend fixed-rate periods for home loans is creating greater opportunities for people seeking stable housing.
Borrowing costs ease
After home loan interest rates remained relatively high for some time, more favourable signs began to emerge in late August and early September. Several banks introduced new lending programmes, cutting interest rates or extending fixed-rate periods. According to the Viet Nam Interbank Market Research Association (VIRA), interbank interest rates for most short-term maturities eased during trading on the first weekend of September.
At the same time, the State Bank of Viet Nam injected a net 5.63 trillion VND through open-market operations, creating more favourable conditions for credit institutions to balance their funding sources.
Preferential interest rates can be up to one percentage point per year lower than the standard real estate lending rates applicable to individual customers. Loans can have a maximum term of 35 years, while financing can cover up to 100% of the home’s value, depending on the borrower’s conditions and credit profile.
Nevertheless, adjustments to lending policies by some banks do not necessarily mean that home loan rates have fallen across the board. Experts say that actual lending terms depend on the loan term, the quality of the borrower’s credit profile, collateral, and the level of risk associated with each customer.
In particular, many experts have highlighted the issue of “floating” interest rates, warning borrowers not to focus solely on the preferential rate offered when signing a loan agreement. Many products offer low rates only during the first 6–24 months before switching to a floating rate based on the reference rate plus a margin. When interest rates change, monthly debt-servicing obligations can rise significantly. Therefore, homebuyers should limit their borrowing to around 30–40% of the property’s value and ensure that total monthly debt repayments do not exceed approximately 40% of their income.
Credit must reach the right “destinations”
According to data from the State Bank of Viet Nam, by the end of June, total outstanding credit to the real estate sector had exceeded 5.1 quadrillion VND, up 8.3% from the end of 2025 and accounting for around 25.5% of total outstanding credit in the economy. Notably, 94% of real estate credit consisted of medium- and long-term loans, up 8.1% from the end of 2025.
On a narrower scale, the Ministry of Construction’s report on housing and the real estate market for the second quarter of 2026 showed that, as of June 30, outstanding credit for real estate business activities had reached more than 2.52 quadrillion VND, an increase of 284.07 trillion VND, or 12.71%, from the end of the first quarter. According to To Anh Hung, CEO of Refi and an expert at the Viet Nam Financial Advisers Community, this is an important point to consider when assessing genuine market demand, as the current increase in real estate credit is concentrated in business activities, involving both companies and individuals, rather than people’s demand for home loans.
These figures show that the real estate sector remains heavily dependent on bank financing, while medium- and long-term capital mobilisation channels have yet to develop proportionately. The issue, therefore, is not whether to open or close the “credit tap,” but which segments receive the funding. This direction is clearly reflected in the State Bank of Viet Nam’s management policies. Under Official Letter No. 4551/NHNN-CSTT dated May 29, credit institutions in 2026 are not required to include additional credit outstanding above the end-2025 level for social housing, industrial parks, and export processing zones in real estate credit when their credit growth in the sector is assessed.
The mechanism creates additional room for funding for segments serving social welfare and production, but does not mean that controls on real estate credit in general are being relaxed. According to Dao Van Ha, Deputy Director of the Forecasting, Statistics, and Monetary-Financial Stability Department at the State Bank of Viet Nam, the current challenge is not merely to unblock capital flows, but, more importantly, to allocate resources to areas that generate genuine value.
Taking a long-term view of the market, a Vietcombank representative continues to see a basis for recovery in the real estate sector, but expects it to remain under close control, particularly in highly speculative segments. From another perspective, MB General Director Pham Nhu Anh said that the market slowdown following a period of relatively rapid growth could also be viewed positively, particularly as policies to address legal obstacles are being implemented.
Accordingly, real estate credit is also being provided by banks in a more cautious and selective manner.
