The Land Law 2024, which creates a smooth legal corridor for overseas Vietnamese (OV) to invest in housing in Vietnam, is expected to help Vietnam attract billions of dollars of remittances each year, contributing to promoting the growth of the real estate sector, according to insiders.

In the revised version, Vietnamese people residing abroad who are Vietnamese citizens, and those of the Vietnamese origin residing abroad are eligible to own land use rights at home.

According to the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS), the new legal corridor will provide a more favourable conditions for OVs to own houses in Vietnam, thus driving remittances into the real property markets.

VARS experts held that new regulations included in the Land Law 2024, which allow OVs to own land use rights in Vietnam, are suitable to international trends and have positive impact.

The amount of remittances to Vietnam, estimated at billions of dollars each year and on the rise, will be a support for the real estate market in the coming time, especially amid the sector’s current thirst of capital, they said.

Deputy Managing Director of Savills Vietnam Troy Griffiths said that changes in the revised Land Law will bring about more investment opportunities for OVs while creating high potential for the market thanks to the direct investment resources from this group.

VARS President Nguyen Van Dinh held that in the long term, remittances will lead to a strong demand helping boost the real estate sector’s growth, adding that along with effectively implementing the law, Vietnam should continue improving the transport and telecommunications infrastructure systems as well as other public services to increase the competitiveness of the domestic real estate market.

At the same time, the country should provide tax incentives for OVs to invest in the real property market, especially large-scale projects and those with high benefits to the community, while ensuring the transparency of relevant legal regulations, and learning international experience in attracting remittances to the market.

The expert also advised real estate businesses to design projects with high standards and construction quality to meet the demand of OVs, while supporting OVs in house leasing.

According to the State Committee on OV Affairs, there are currently about 6 million Vietnamese people living and working in more than 130 countries and territories, along with about 650,000 Vietnamese guest workers in 40 countries and territories.

Vietnam has been among the top 10 countries with the highest remittances in the world and the top three in Asia-Pacific. From 1993 (the first year of remittance statistics) to the end of 2022, the amount topped 190 billion USD, nearly equal to that of FDI disbursed in the same period.

In 2023 alone, the amount of remittances flowing to the country was estimated to reach about 16 billion USD, an increase of 32% compared to the previous year.

Each year, it is estimated that up to 25% of remittances are poured into the real estate market./.