Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chairs a meeting of the steering committee on housing policy and property market on October 25. (Photo: VNA)

Chairing a meeting of the steering committee on housing policy and property market, Ha underscored the comprehensive significance of housing policy regarding politics, economy, and society, and asked the Ministry of Construction (MoC) to join hands with the Ministries of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Planning and Investment, and Finance to complete the housing programme for the people who rendered service to the nation as well as arrange capital for implementation next year.

The MoC must review dossiers and administrative procedures of social housing projects while working with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to instruct enterprises to complete all procedures within a single application to cut time and costs, he said, adding it should coordinate with the State Bank of Vietnam to report on the real estate credit situation, assess its impact on the economy, and propose new and drastic measures to remove bottlenecks for the market.

According to a report from the MoC, the real estate market witnessed robust supply in the first months of the year, with 939 commercial housing projects under construction with more than 426,100 apartments. New housing supply has been concentrated in mid- to high-price segments while there is a distinct lack of affordable units.

As of August 31, outstanding credit to the property sector amounted to 1.27 quadrillion VND (50.15 billion USD), a year-on-year increase of over 29%.

To date, nearly 9,800 hectares have been zoned off for social housing projects across the nation.

The MoC said that a lack of attractive incentives for affordable housing investors as well as the complicated home-buying procedures are preventing the segment’s development.