Ho Chi Minh City · Edition 9 September 2026
Buying property in Ho Chi Minh City as a foreigner
Yes, a foreigner can buy an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City. No, you should not do it in your first year. You get 50 years, not freehold, and no more than 30% of the units in any block. Central primary prices hit a record 107M VND per square metre ($4,115) in the first quarter of 2026. Gross yields in the centre are 2.89%.
Current at 9 September 2026. Dollars at VND 26,000 to US$1, the rate of 8 September 2026.
Fifty years, 30% a block, and a certificate nobody will date
Nothing else about moving to Ho Chi Minh City is this clear on paper. Housing Law 27/2023/QH15 has let foreigners buy since 1 August 2024, a date Law 43/2024 brought forward (Vietnam Briefing, 29 July 2024). There is no minimum price and no personal approval process.
The paperwork is the hard part. Hanoi is "the only city in Vietnam issuing certificates of ownership to foreign homeowners" (Vietnam Briefing, updated 23 March 2026, read 10 September 2026). Buyers here, it says, "may need to wait". CHECK That is a law firm's summary, not a published queue. No ban, no date, and no way to date your own file.
So you can price the flat to the dong. You cannot price the wait.
You can own the flat, and you can never own the land
Approved projects only. You buy inside commercial projects on the city's published foreign-eligible list. It grew by six projects on 18 May 2026 and two more on 29 May 2026 (theinvestor.vn, May 2026). Sites near defence installations, borders, islands and state headquarters are excluded. If your building is not listed, there is no purchase to discuss.
Thirty per cent of the block. Foreigners may hold up to 30% of the apartments in a condominium building. Landed projects are capped at 10% of the houses, and at 250 houses per ward-equivalent of 10,000 people (Vietnam Briefing, 6 March 2024).
Fifty years from the date on the certificate. One 50-year extension is available on application before expiry. The book gives a 30-day review. The 2024 guidance says file three months ahead. Nobody but the state owns the land.
You, at the table. You need a valid passport entry, no diplomatic immunity, and you must be in Vietnam to sign. The 2024 guidance words that last test as proof of residency at the transaction. CHECK A tourist entry may not clear that bar. Check the Vietnam visa options first.
Add 12.5% to the sticker price
Worked on a 60 m² one-bedroom at 101M VND per square metre, the Vinhomes Central Park ask (batdongsan.com.vn, 8 September 2026):
| Item | Rate | VND | USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| The flat, 60 m² at 101M/m² | — | 6.06bn | $233,077 |
| VAT on a new unit | 10% | 606M | $23,308 |
| Maintenance fund | 2% | 121.2M | $4,662 |
| Registration fee | 0.5% | 30.3M | $1,165 |
| Cash before you hold anything | +12.5% | 6.82bn | $262,212 |
| Seller's income tax, when you sell | 2% of price | 121.2M | $4,662 |
That schedule is market practice, not a re-verified 2026 tax table, and local prices sometimes quote VAT inside. CHECK Ask the developer in writing which of those numbers your price already contains.
Now the return. That unit lets for $600 to $750 a month on a year (rentapartment.vn, 8 September 2026). Call it $700, or $8,400 a year. On the $262,212 you paid, that is 3.2% gross. The service charge of 14,300 VND per square metre takes about $396 back.
Numbeo puts the gross yield at 2.89% in the centre and 3.83% outside, updated 29 August 2026. Its mortgage rate is 8.64%. Cushman & Wakefield puts mortgages near 10–14% in the same quarter (Residential MarketBeat, 1 August 2026). CHECK Two credible sources, five points apart. Borrowed money costs more than twice what the flat earns.
Three traps, and what each one costs you
The pink book that does not arrive. Without the certificate you hold a contract, not a registered title. You can live in the flat. Reselling, mortgaging or proving you own it is another matter. Your 50 years run from a date you do not have.
The block already full of foreigners. SonKim Land was fined on 8 September 2026 over 136 apartment sales to foreign buyers at Gateway Thao Dien. It had not reported them to the Department of Construction (Tuoi Tre News, 8 September 2026). The People's Committee gave it ten days to pay, and did not disclose the amount. Get your block's current foreign count in writing before any money moves.
Letting it out is a taxed business. Rental income above 500M VND a year ($19,230) attracts 5% VAT plus 5% personal income tax. The landlord business licence tax ended on 1 January 2026. The book credits Decree 68/2026 and Circular 18/2026. The live guidance credits Resolution 198/2025/QH15 (Vietnam Briefing, updated 23 March 2026). CHECK Same date, different instruments.
The market is starved, not cheap
This is the one city in the series with no oversupply. Central primary prices hit a record 107M VND per square metre ($4,115) in the first quarter of 2026 (Knight Frank via VnExpress, 5 April 2026). That was up 11.8% in a year. About 820 units launched in the core, 90% of them high-end.
Then liquidity fell away. Secondary prices city-wide were about 108M per square metre ($4,130) in the second quarter (Ministry of Construction via Tuoi Tre News, 22 August 2026). Deals fell nearly 14% on the quarter, to 26,567. Launches ran 1,300-odd units, down 53% on the year, with 31% absorption (Cushman & Wakefield, 1 August 2026).
Supply stays thin. On 12 May 2026 the city said it will stop approving downtown high-rises in crowded wards. Some 50,000 units are due across 2026 and 2027, mostly at high prices.
The published price levels do not agree. Knight Frank says 107M per square metre for the core. CBRE says about 76M ($2,923) for the expanded city (via vir.com.vn, 26 August 2026). Cushman & Wakefield reports US$6,209. Portal asks average 58.7M to 69M ($2,258–2,654) across 13,439 listings (batdongsan.com.vn, 8 September 2026). CHECK Four numbers, four definitions of "the market". The 1 July 2025 merger explains part of it.
Ho Chi Minh City, honestly prints the sale price per square metre for 29 named buildings, in five bands, with each one's rent.
So should you buy here? Not yet, and only in cash
Rent for your first year. Then decide with real numbers, in the ward you chose. Renting in Ho Chi Minh City covers that year.
After that year, buy only if all three hold. You are paying cash, because an 8.64% mortgage against a 2.89% yield loses money monthly. You will hold ten years or more, because 12.5% going in and 2% coming out need time to earn back. And you can live with a contract instead of a title.
For most people, one of the three fails. That means no. The case for buying is stronger here than anywhere else in this series, and it still comes second to renting.
The local price-to-income ratio is 33.63 (Numbeo, 29 August 2026). Ordinary salaries here do not buy central flats.
Your 50 years start from the certificate, and the certificate is what this city is not issuing. Ask any agent who says otherwise for one foreign-held pink book, with its date.
What this page does not cover
- The sale price per square metre for 29 named buildings, in five bands, beside each one's 1BR and 2BR rent
- The transfer sequence, document by document, from reservation to handover
- Which of the eight foreigner areas the 2026 foreign-eligible project lists actually reach
- The 2.89% yield worked against real service charges, band by band
All of it is in Ho Chi Minh City, honestly — 21 pages, $29. See what's inside
Related
Before you own anything, live somewhere. The eight areas foreigners live in carries rents by ward and the honest drawback of each. Your entry status decides whether you can sign, so start with the Vietnam visa options. Still choosing? Compare all ten cities on rent, air and transit.