HCMC’s affordable apartment drought continues

By Anh Tu August 29, 2023 | 11:15 pm PT

Buildings in eastern Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Ho Chi Minh City has not seen any new affordable apartment projects enter the market this year either as mid- and high-priced segments continued to dominate.

Of the 14,300 new apartments at 14 projects approved for sale, 64% have been in the high-end segment costing at least VND40 million (US$1,656) per square meter, according to the HCMC Department of Construction.

The rest were in the mid-priced segment at VND20-40 million per square meter.

This means no new affordable apartment (VND20 million per square meter or lower) has been launched in the city since 2021, revealing the stark imbalance in supply.

The city is also struggling to develop social housing though the government has tasked it with building 70,000 units by 2030, the fifth highest target for any city or province.

It is developing nine of them but most have been delayed by lack of permits.

Only one project with 260 apartments was completed this year, in the first quarter, in Thu Duc City.

In July it ordered officials to quickly resolve bureaucratic delays plaguing social housing development.