Expanding access to social housing for young people

Social housing area for workers at Bao Minh Industrial Park (Vu Ban).

With rapid urbanization and strong development of industrial parks, Nam Dinh currently has a huge demand for social housing. According to statistics, in the period of 2021-2025, the province needs to meet the housing needs of about 116,000 people, while in the period of 2026-2030 this number is 96,200 people. To solve this problem, on October 31, 2024, the People's Committee of Nam Dinh province continued to issue Decision No. 2362/QD-UBND on approving the investment policy (first time) of the project to build Bai Vien social housing area in My Xa ward (Nam Dinh city). The housing area will solve the housing needs of low-income people such as cadres, civil servants, public employees, officers, professional soldiers of the People's Armed Forces, workers working in industrial parks... in the province. The project has a total investment of more than 909 billion VND, with a construction scale of 6 buildings with 9 floors above ground and one basement on an expected scale of more than 30,000 m2 of land. The total number of apartments is expected to be about 1,100, with each apartment ranging from 25 to 70 m2. Of which, the land area for construction is about 28,285 m2, the rest is for building roads. It is expected that from now until the end of 2025, the project will focus on investment procedures, bidding to select investors, land allocation, and construction commencement. Regarding the construction progress, it will be implemented in 3 phases (from 2025-2030). Phase 1 from 2025-2026 will carry out construction and put into use blocks B and C with about 324 apartments. Phase 2 from 2026-2028 is expected to construct and put into use blocks D, E with about 304 apartments. Phase 3 from 2028-2030 will focus on constructing and putting into use blocks A, F with about 472 apartments. This will be the third social housing project implemented in the province. Previously, Nam Dinh province had 2 social housing projects for workers that were completed and put into use since 2014 by Youngone Nam Dinh Company Limited in Hoa Xa Industrial Park and the Phase I project of Workers' Housing and Expert Housing with 338 rooms by Vinatex Investment Joint Stock Company in Bao Minh Industrial Park (Vu Ban). Nam Dinh province aims to complete 17,882 social housing apartments by 2030. In the 2021-2025 period, Nam Dinh will implement 11,424 units and in the 2026-2030 period, it will implement 6,458 units.

In addition to boosting supply, banks are also actively implementing preferential loan packages to help young people easily access social housing. Some banks in Nam Dinh are offering the most attractive interest rates in many years. At the Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank) Nam Dinh Branch, the bank has provided a preferential loan package with an interest rate of 3.5%/year for home loan customers aged 18-35, with a loan term of up to 50 years and a maximum principal grace period of 5 years. According to the bank representative, the long loan term and low monthly repayment amount help reduce financial pressure for customers. This is an important factor when many young people are in the asset accumulation stage. The extended principal grace period is also a plus, allowing borrowers to prepare financially before entering the principal repayment stage. The program helps young people easily access capital and soon realize their housing plans. Previously, at the end of February 2025, HDBank Nam Dinh introduced a loan package with a capital scale of 30 trillion VND, with an interest rate of 4.5% per year. After a month of implementation, the unit adjusted the interest rate down to 3.5% per year - the lowest interest rate of the bank in many years. Recently, Loc Phat Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPBank) Nam Dinh Branch also announced a loan package with a scale of 5,000 billion VND, applying a starting interest rate of only 3.88%/year in the first 3 months. Notably, LPBank Nam Dinh allows customers to borrow up to 100% of their capital needs, with a maximum loan term of up to 35 years and a principal grace period of up to 24 months. Not staying out of the game, Saigon - Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) Nam Dinh Branch also announced a loan package of 16 trillion VND to support home buying needs, with an interest rate of 3.99%/year in the first 3 months. SHB Nam Dinh allows customers to borrow up to 90% of the value of the property they intend to buy, and exempts principal repayment for up to the first 60 months (equivalent to 5 years). The loan term is also extended to 35 years, creating favorable conditions for borrowers to balance their finances. At the Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) Nam Dinh Branch, the program "Dream Home - Unlock your dream home with MB" has been implemented by this bank for more than a year. This is a special financial product for young people who have just started working, with an income of 10-20 million/month, helping them easily own their first home. Not stopping there, in 2025, MB Nam Dinh will continue to expand the loan package with unlimited scale. Young customers under 35 years old, as long as they have a need for a home loan, MB is ready to meet. Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) Nam Dinh Branch has also launched the "First Home" loan package for people under 35 years old with an interest rate of 5.5% fixed for 5 years. Borrowers can flexibly repay the debt with a small amount in the first years and gradually increase it according to future income.

Although banks are offering many preferential loan packages, the number of customers accessing social housing loan packages is not really high, mostly because customers are still hesitant because real estate prices are at a high level. In fact, real estate transactions are being conducted according to market agreements at prices many times higher than the real value. Therefore, banks create conditions for loans, the demand for buying houses will increase but the supply is not enough to meet, leading to the possibility of house prices being pushed up further. Therefore, banks recommend that customers under 35 years old who are supported to buy houses must be those with stable jobs and incomes. In addition, customers must have a financial calculation plan or try to save at least 30-50% of the house value before borrowing to reduce debt repayment pressure. If choosing to borrow, home buyers need to carefully calculate the interest rate after the preferential period to ensure long-term affordability and try to find other sources of income to ensure long-term debt repayment ability. In addition, devoting most of their income to repaying bank loans will make it difficult for young people to spend daily, invest in themselves and make long-term financial plans. Financial pressure can lead to life imbalance, seriously affecting the spirit and quality of life.

In the coming time, to help young people easily access social housing, there needs to be stronger support policies from the Government and businesses. Developing social housing, affordable rental housing funds, and low-interest and long-term fixed loan packages are practical solutions.

Article and photos: Duc Toan

Source: https://baonamdinh.vn/xa-hoi/202504/mo-rong-co-hoi-tiep-can-nha-o-xa-hoi-cho-gioi-tre-8e82e94/