Property

There are many conflicting views on whether to tax real estate given that “land fever” has appeared in recent times. Many analysts believe that imposing a property tax would be an effective tool to limit real estate speculation. Others, however, believe that even if the Law on Property Tax is enacted soon, it will not have much of an impact on real estate prices over the long term.

Hanoi will continue to sell 600 old State-owned villas from a list of sold or half-finished properties. The capital currently has 1,216 villas, including 367 State-owned villas, 732 mixed-use villas with mixed ownership, and 117 privately-owned villas. Many are degraded and damaged, but there is insufficient funding for maintenance, renovation, and repair.

The task of adjusting the general planning on the construction of the Van Phong Economic Zone in south-central Khanh Hoa province to 2040 and vision to 2050 has been approved. With an area of 150,000 ha, the Economic Zone will become a driving force for development, a smart and sustainable urban area, and an international marine tourism and service center with many diverse entertainment activities, including casinos.

Retail real estate in Ho Chi Minh City has been unable to recover quickly as purchasing power remains weak and many businesses have closed or are still temporarily closed. Rentals for premises in the non-CBD area have fallen 10-20 per cent compared to last year. Vacancies in the first quarter of 2022 rose to 13.7 per cent, up 2 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.

The task of planning the central highlands’ region for the 2021-2030 period and vision to 2050 has been approved. The plan aims to develop large tourist centers and form thematic tourist routes specific to the central highlands and to build expressways and upgrade the intra-regional transport network and routes connecting central highlands’ provinces with the southern region, the south-central coastal region, southern Laos, and northeast Cambodia, etc.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the average transaction price of real estate in March headed upwards. The prices of certain types of real estate in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were quite high compared to February, such as land plots rising 3.6 per cent in the latter.