The Investors has run an article by Nguyen Van Dinh, a real estate legal expert, in which he argues recent regulatory changes to home loans, specifically the use of homes that have not been completed to secure financing, are not a cause for concern as has been reported in the past (See: Vietnam to restrict mortgages for off-the-plan dwellings from July 1).
Nguyen argues that the new regulations simply reframe what constitutes a ‘home mortgage’. He says that houses purchased off-the plan can still be used as collateral but as ‘loans secured by real estate’.
Notably, Nguyen says this has always more-or-less been the case and therefore these new regulations should change very little. He goes on to say that the purpose of the circular is actually for clarifying risk assessments for banks–’home mortgages’ on complete homes carry less risks than ‘loans secured by real estate’ where the home is not yet completed.