Vietnam Economic Times August 31 + September 07 2026

Dear readers,

Eighty-one years ago, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, then headed by President Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese people achieved a miracle with the complete victory of the August Revolution in 1945, seizing power for the working class and farmers. On September 2 of that year, during a rally of tens of thousands of people in the capital Hanoi, President Ho Chi Minh solemnly read the “Declaration of Independence,” officially establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam), ending more than 80 years of the nation being enslaved by colonialism. To mark the 81st anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (September 2), the opening pages of this double issue are dedicated to a story recalling the revolution that changed the fate of the Vietnamese nation.

Our Cover Story, meanwhile, focuses on Vietnamese citizens’ right to housing, as confirmed by Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW from the third plenum of the 14th Party Central Committee of the Party, dated July 28, 2026, on the viewpoints and orientations for amending the Land Law and related laws, which stated “the State creates conditions for citizens to exercise their right to housing; allocates land, and has preferential mechanisms to encourage the development of affordable rental housing to meet the housing needs of the people.”

The Cover Story includes analyses from policymakers, experts, and stakeholders, examining the difficulties and obstacles in the real estate market, while proposing various solutions to unlock tens of billions of USD that have been buried in the real estate market, since thousands of projects have been delayed due to a host of reasons, in order to increase supply and promptly meet the housing needs of the people.

In reality, Vietnam’s real estate market still faces many bottlenecks and shortcomings, such as unreasonable credit mechanisms, a serious imbalance between supply and demand, with hundreds of “suspended” projects being “on hold” for decades, along with speculation, hoarding of houses and land, price inflation, and speculative trading that distorts the market. As a result, tens of thousands of apartments or individual houses remain vacant, while many people who genuinely need housing cannot access the market due to financial constraints.

To ensure the real estate market develops stably and sustainably, in line with the country’s socio-economic development orientation and to meet the housing needs of all social strata, there is much work to be done and many issues to resolve, both at the macro and micro levels. In such a context, Resolution No. 21 will serve as an important way forward.

Additionally, building a suitable financial mechanism for land, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s directive on land valuation, to unlock resources, control housing and land prices, and ensure a harmonious balance of interests between the State, enterprises, and the people, is also a necessary solution.

The policy of encouraging the development of affordable rental housing to promptly meet the need to “settle down” of the majority of workers, based on a new mindset of “settling down” not necessarily being tied to ownership of housing, is also a correct direction Resolution No. 21 outlines.

The ultimate goal of all policies and strategies of the Party and State regarding land management and real estate market development is to create the best possible conditions for the sustainable socio-economic development of the country, while enhancing the spiritual and material lives of the people, in which housing is but one criterion. The target of completing 1.14 million social housing units by 2030, as well as the policy of developing affordable rental housing, will surely contribute to meeting this criterion.

Warmest regards

Dr. CHU VAN LAM
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD