Housing prices and procedures are the main obstacles for Vietnamese living overseas to buy houses in motherland.
Riding on an opportunity when Vietnamese living overseas are allowed to buy houses in Vietnam, many high end property projects have been developed. However, there are very few bargain deals.
Many Vietnamese overseas came for consulting at property agencies about purchasing procedures and prices however, after knowing about them, many people have changed their mind because of unaffordable price and complicated purchasing processes.
According to Vinh Nghiem, a Vietnamese living in the U.S., he wants to return to live in Vietnam but housing prices are too costly.
According to a luxury apartment residence project investor, it’s not a matter of procedures, but it’s a matter that they have limited financial sources. Most of them try to buy houses in the countries where they are living and having another house in Vietnam is not their first priority.
Therefore, there needs to be appropriate solutions to help them be able to buy houses in Vietnam. According to Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Property Association in Ho Chi Minh City, the new policy only can stimulate the market but cannot make it exciting.
Not all Vietnamese living overseas that qualify for the conditions to buy houses in Vietnam will buy. Furthermore, when they buy houses, they will have to pay 2% of the total contract value or 25% of their interests. This policy makes even local people hesitate, not just Vietnamese living abroad.
According to PhD. Luong Bach Van, Chairman of The Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese (ALOV) in Ho Chi Minh City, under the State’s policy, those who don’t have Vietnamese nationality but have relatives or parents living in Vietnam are allowed to buy houses if they meet regulated laws.
Meanwhile, according to Nationality laws from 2008, Vietnamese living overseas are Vietnamese or have Vietnamese citizenship. When they are born, their nationality is verified by rules of blood relationship and their children, even if offspring are living abroad for a long time.
Thus, it’s very difficult to verify their origin if they were born abroad and their parents are deceased. When their origin cannot be verified, they will not have any chance to buy houses in Vietnam.
According to the Ministry of Construction, the drafted implementation guideline of the policy was consulted by relevant bodies and has been submitted to the government.
In addition, the government is considering a possibility to enable property companies to invest in land projects then sell to Vietnamese overseas. This way, construction will be conducted by both parties.