Investing in Vietnam Property: The Ultimate Guide | InvestAsian (2024)

Last updated June 26th, 2023.

Vietnam has made rapid progress over the past several decades, averaging GDP growth rates exceeding 7% during the 1990s and 2000s.

It remains one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and owning property in Vietnam is a popular way to profit from the nation’s rise as a foreign investor.

Buying real estate here is arguably the best method to profit from Vietnam’s strong demographic trends and rising middle class.

Over the years, Vietnam has especially become competitive in its industrial and manufacturing sectors. China is falling in popularity among global firms which increasingly prefer building factories in Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia, Thailand, and of course Vietnam.

This is probably caused by rising costs, more regulations, weaker growth, and a strong “home-bias” in the Chinese market. A looming trade war with the United States also doesn’t help problems in Asia’s biggest economy.

Whatever the primary cause of capital fleeing from China might be, East Asia is currently experiencing a downturn while Southeast Asia is on the rise.

As such, many investors are looking at Vietnam – Southeast Asia’s third most populous country and one of the fastest growing in the region. But foreigners have, at least up until recently, had few options when investing in Vietnam.

Lack of investment variety in Vietnam is quickly changing though, with the government relaxing property ownership rules for foreign investors.

Anyone with either a 3-month tourist or residence visa may now own land on a renewable, 50-year lease. Foreign companies have even less restrictions when buying property. It’s not quite that simple and there are additional rules, discussed further below, that you should consider.

However, there’s little doubt Vietnam is going in the right direction. The government is actively making it easier to purchase assets here as a foreign real estate investor.

Places like Cambodia and Thailand, right now, make owning property as a foreigner less difficult than Vietnam. With that said, the Vietnam government has made clear which direction they’re moving by lifting restrictions on foreign ownership of both companies and property.

Until things are easier for investors, there are still countless ways to start investing in Vietnam property. It’s definitely bureaucratic, but once you have figured everything out it’s possible to (at least de-facto) own apartments and houses alike in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City, often referred to as Saigon by the locals, is Vietnam’s largest city and one of Asia’s fastest-growing.

There are lots of reasons to invest in Vietnam real estate right now rather than waiting until it’s more straightforward – apart from the fact that entry barriers are keeping asset valuations low at the moment.

First off, demographics are in Vietnam’s favor. While nearby countries such China and Thailand are about to suffer from population decline, analysts predict Vietnam will grow from its current population of around 95 million today to almost 120 million by 2040.

Rapid urbanization should keep driving up real estate prices in the center of all major cities in Vietnam.

Second, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing nations in the world. Future trends still remain positive as the government continues making it easier to conduct business.

Pioneers reap the greatest rewards when it comes to frontier market investment. Vietnam is not easy or straightforward to buy property in, although that isn’t necessarily a bad thing since entry barriers have kept values fair.