Taxing Unused Real Estate: A Strong Solution To Stabilize The Market

Q1/2025 Real Estate Market Overview: Notable Figures

According to the Ministry of Construction, Q1/2025 saw a positive upturn with 14 commercial housing projects completed (over 3,800 units, a 40% increase) and 26 new projects licensed (nearly 16,000 units, a 44% increase). Transaction volumes also increased significantly:

• Over 33,000 successful transactions for apartments and individual homes, up 32% compared to Q4/2024.
• Over 101,000 successful land plot transactions, up over 16%.

Additionally, more than 1,300 locations, totaling over 9,700 hectares of land, have been zoned for social housing development, with the goal of completing nearly 48,000 units across 22 provinces and cities.

However, the market still faces numerous challenges. Statistics show that approximately 788 real estate projects nationwide are encountering difficulties and obstacles related to land, investment, planning, construction, housing, bidding, funding, and conclusions from inspections.

Resolute Action Against Speculation And Market Manipulation

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh particularly emphasized the necessity to “resolutely address acts of creating artificial prices, speculation, manipulating land auctions for profit, disrupting the real estate market, and preventing people from being defrauded.”

Delegates at the meeting also proposed:

• Reducing costs that impact real estate prices.
• Implementing reasonable plans, targets, and regulation for real estate segments.
• Strictly penalizing acts of price manipulation and market rigging.

Prime Minister’s Directives: Guiding Market Stabilization

To address lingering issues, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued specific directives to various ministries and sectors:

• Ministry of Finance: Urgently research and issue policies to tax real estate (land and unused housing), assess land price discrepancies with sale prices, and establish mechanisms to handle non-transparent transactions.
• Ministry of Construction: Coordinate with local authorities to inspect and resolve difficulties for real estate projects; research integrating investment procedure regulations into a single decree; urgently build a housing database connected to the population database.
• Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (formerly Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development): Lead coordination with the Ministry of Finance to review land regulations and land valuation procedures, amending current regulations if necessary; provinces and cities to assess and issue land price tables, compensation for site clearance, increase deposit levels in land auctions, and strictly penalize acts of exploiting auctions to disrupt the market.
• Ministry of Public Security: Immediately intervene to handle individuals manipulating and disrupting the market; review projects with signs of violations, initially by economic measures before considering other actions; prevent people from being defrauded in land-related matters.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister also requested ministries and sectors to research and remove obstacles to reduce costs, lower real estate prices, and increase supply to improve public access to real estate. Strict implementation of decentralization and delegation, along with cutting unnecessary and cumbersome administrative procedures, was also emphasized.

These directives demonstrate the Government’s strong determination to build a transparent, healthy, and sustainable real estate market, creating favorable conditions for both citizens and businesses.