Though incomes have been rising in recent years, so have property prices, and it remains very hard for poor people to afford housing.
Vietnamese, especially those with low and moderate incomes, should, therefore, start thinking more about having a place to live rather than owning a house.
Like people in other Asian countries, the Vietnamese consider ownership of a house a symbol of success.
If you have to rent a house, people could judge you as being unsuccessful or even poor.
This mindset has created pressure on many people.
They have to live thriftily, work many jobs and even earn money illegally so that they can buy a house or at least a plot of land as soon as possible.
It is different in developed countries like the US where people find it normal to rent a house.
However, their attitude is not the only reason why Vietnamese hesitate to rent a house; the property trading system also causes difficulties.
In western countries, the housing system has three components – developers, landlords and tenants.
Landlords buy from real estate agents using bank loans at low interest rates and hire out the property for 20 or 30 years.
This ensures many people secure accommodation for a long time.
They don’t have to save much but just earmark a certain amount from their monthly salary to pay the rent.
In Vietnam, the existing property system involves only two entities – those looking for a place to buy and developers.
But the western model can be used to resolve the problem of housing needs for many people.
The government can cut taxes to support developers so that they can offer lower prices to people who buy the houses and rent them out.
The government can also directly fund developers building housing projects for people with low income.
Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee approved construction of houses of 30 to 40 square meters by Dat Lanh Company in District 12.
Nam Long Company has also got the nod to build houses in District 9 that will cost VND500 million (US$30,000).
These are affordable even for people with low or middle incomes.
It is an indication that developers have started to pay attention to by far the largest segment of the housing market.
Since people with low and middle incomes make up a large part of the population, both the government and developers should treat their housing demand as a matter of priority.
By Nguyen Quoc Y, Marketing Director of Thu Duc Housing Development Joint Stock Company (Source: Nguoi Do Thi) |
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