Mark Cameron of the UK, who lives and works in Vietnam, believes thathe will be able own residential property thanks to the revised Law onHousing, which has removed prior restrictions on foreigners from buyingproperty in the country.
The law will take effect in June.
"For foreigners like me, to own residential property in Vietnam wasextremely difficult, since we were required to meet strictrequirements," Mark said.
"For instance, the lawrequired that we either must have a permanent resident card for at leastone year, or make contributions to Vietnam and be awarded with adecoration or medal from the country's President, or make a specialcontribution to the country as recognised in a decision of the PrimeMinister," he said.
"Also, it required that we mustwork in the economic sector with a university degree or higherqualification, or be someone with special knowledge or skills for whichVietnam has a demand. Or you must marry a Vietnamese citizen," he added.
"Even if we met the requirements, we still had tocomplete many complicated administrative procedures before being allowedto buy a house. Because of this, in spite of making several efforts, Icould not buy a house," Cameron said.
"However, the revised Housing Law will enable me to realise my dream of owning a house here," he said.
The new law states that all foreigners who have been granted a visa to Vietnam are allowed to buy property in the country.
All foreigners will also be allowed to buy any kind of property,whether apartment or house, but with the provision that such property isunder commercial housing development programmes.
More importantly, there will be no limit on the number of houses that aforeign can buy, but the total number of units owned by foreigners mustnot exceed 30 percent of the total units in one building, or not exceed250 houses in one particular administrative area.
Analysts say the new law would help the property sector, an area thathas been underperforming since 2008, when selling prices plunged by 50to 70 percent.
Nguyen Tran Nam, former Minister ofConstruction, said that allowing individual foreigners to buy houses inthe country would give the real estate market a much-needed boost.
The chairman of HCM City Real Estate Association (HREA), Le HoangChau, said the new housing law that allowed foreigners to buyresidential property in the country would create an impetus for thedomestic real estate market not only to grow but also to integrate intothe world market.
Chau said the policy wouldincrease national total assets, providing more conditions for othersectors to develop and therefore create more employment for localworkers.
The new housing law is expected to "stirup" the domestic real estate market since many foreigners living inVietnam want to own a house here.
According toHREA's statistics, which are not yet complete, the city now has morethan 80,000 Koreans, 7,600 Japanese, 1,200 Germans, 6,000 Filipinos andmany (an undetermined number) Chinese, most of them residing permanentlyhere.
Hoang Anh Tuan, general director of the TacDat Tac Vang Real Estate Company, said that Binh Duong Province also haddozens of thousands of foreign experts working in local industrialparks, health care and education establishments.
"Tofully exploit this opportunity, many real estate investors have alreadyoutlined new business plans that have been designated in ways that canattract many foreigners to buy houses," Chau of HREA said.
Analysts said that many real estate developers have prepared high-end properties for overseas customers.
In Hanoi and HCM City, many real estate developers have allowedforeigners and overseas Vietnamese to register to buy houses at theirprojects. Some of them have also advertised their housing projectsabroad.
The Global Petroleum Investment Corporation,for example, announced that it would set aside part of its Trang Anluxury apartment project to sell to foreign customers.
Company director Nguyen Quoc Hiep said foreigners and overseasVietnamese represented potential customers who could encourage therecovery of the real estate market.
Tuan of Tac DatTac Vang also said his company had worked with Becamex to invest in anurban area that specialises in building homes for foreigners.
Vu Cuong Quyet, general director of the Dat Xanh Mien Bac RealEstate Company, said that many foreigners have already registered to buyapartments prior to the Housing Law taking effect, and are only waitingto complete necessary procedures.-VNA
The law will take effect in June.
"For foreigners like me, to own residential property in Vietnam wasextremely difficult, since we were required to meet strictrequirements," Mark said.
"For instance, the lawrequired that we either must have a permanent resident card for at leastone year, or make contributions to Vietnam and be awarded with adecoration or medal from the country's President, or make a specialcontribution to the country as recognised in a decision of the PrimeMinister," he said.
"Also, it required that we mustwork in the economic sector with a university degree or higherqualification, or be someone with special knowledge or skills for whichVietnam has a demand. Or you must marry a Vietnamese citizen," he added.
"Even if we met the requirements, we still had tocomplete many complicated administrative procedures before being allowedto buy a house. Because of this, in spite of making several efforts, Icould not buy a house," Cameron said.
"However, the revised Housing Law will enable me to realise my dream of owning a house here," he said.
The new law states that all foreigners who have been granted a visa to Vietnam are allowed to buy property in the country.
All foreigners will also be allowed to buy any kind of property,whether apartment or house, but with the provision that such property isunder commercial housing development programmes.
More importantly, there will be no limit on the number of houses that aforeign can buy, but the total number of units owned by foreigners mustnot exceed 30 percent of the total units in one building, or not exceed250 houses in one particular administrative area.
Analysts say the new law would help the property sector, an area thathas been underperforming since 2008, when selling prices plunged by 50to 70 percent.
Nguyen Tran Nam, former Minister ofConstruction, said that allowing individual foreigners to buy houses inthe country would give the real estate market a much-needed boost.
The chairman of HCM City Real Estate Association (HREA), Le HoangChau, said the new housing law that allowed foreigners to buyresidential property in the country would create an impetus for thedomestic real estate market not only to grow but also to integrate intothe world market.
Chau said the policy wouldincrease national total assets, providing more conditions for othersectors to develop and therefore create more employment for localworkers.
The new housing law is expected to "stirup" the domestic real estate market since many foreigners living inVietnam want to own a house here.
According toHREA's statistics, which are not yet complete, the city now has morethan 80,000 Koreans, 7,600 Japanese, 1,200 Germans, 6,000 Filipinos andmany (an undetermined number) Chinese, most of them residing permanentlyhere.
Hoang Anh Tuan, general director of the TacDat Tac Vang Real Estate Company, said that Binh Duong Province also haddozens of thousands of foreign experts working in local industrialparks, health care and education establishments.
"Tofully exploit this opportunity, many real estate investors have alreadyoutlined new business plans that have been designated in ways that canattract many foreigners to buy houses," Chau of HREA said.
Analysts said that many real estate developers have prepared high-end properties for overseas customers.
In Hanoi and HCM City, many real estate developers have allowedforeigners and overseas Vietnamese to register to buy houses at theirprojects. Some of them have also advertised their housing projectsabroad.
The Global Petroleum Investment Corporation,for example, announced that it would set aside part of its Trang Anluxury apartment project to sell to foreign customers.
Company director Nguyen Quoc Hiep said foreigners and overseasVietnamese represented potential customers who could encourage therecovery of the real estate market.
Tuan of Tac DatTac Vang also said his company had worked with Becamex to invest in anurban area that specialises in building homes for foreigners.
Vu Cuong Quyet, general director of the Dat Xanh Mien Bac RealEstate Company, said that many foreigners have already registered to buyapartments prior to the Housing Law taking effect, and are only waitingto complete necessary procedures.-VNA
