Demand for home loans remains modest despite interest rate cut

View of a residential area in Hà Nội. Loans were mainly for real estate developers, while those for real estate buyers were insignificant. — VNAVNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Demand for home loans remains low, although interest rates have decreased by 1-3 percentage points per year compared to the beginning of this year.

According to surveys at many banks, home loan interest rates currently range from 8-10 per cent per year. Specifically, in the group of State-owned commercial banks, Agribank offers home loans with a first-year interest rate of 8.5 per cent per year. Vietcombank has a real estate loan package with interest rates for the first 12 months of 8.5 per cent per year, the first 18 months of 8.8 per cent per year, and the first 36 months of 9.7 per cent per year.

The interest rate for real estate loans at Techcombank in the first six months is 8.5 per cent per year and 9 per cent per year for the first year.

ACB has also launched a real estate loan package with sharply reduced interest rates and many attractive policies. Specifically, the first-year interest rate fluctuates at 8 per cent per year.

Foreign-owned banks have also stepped in to reduce home loan interest rates. For example, Shinhan Vietnam offers home loans with an interest rate of 8.3 per cent per year for the first six months and 9.7 per cent per year in the following years; or 8.5 per cent per year in the first year, 9.3 per cent per year in the first two years, and 9.5 per cent per year in the first three years.

At Wooribank, the first-year loan interest rate drops to 8 per cent per year, and the following year's interest rate floats at only about 8.8-9 per cent per year.

Hoàng Hải, director of the Ministry of Construction’s Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management, said that as of 31 August this year, outstanding loans for real estate business activities reached nearly VNĐ986.5 trillion, an increase of more than VNĐ26 trillion compared to 30 July this year.

Of this, outstanding loans for urban area construction investment projects and housing development projects are nearly VNĐ266.25 trillion, and the value for office projects, industrial park and export processing construction projects, and tourist, ecological and resort projects was VNĐ40.62 trillion, VNĐ56.57 trillion, and VNĐ53.86 trillion, respectively.

However, Hải said the loans were mainly for real estate developers, while those for real estate buyers were insignificant.

A leader of a State-owned bank, who declined to be named, attributed the low demand for real estate loans by individual customers to the economic difficulties that affect people's income. Therefore, even though there is demand for housing, it is difficult for banks to stimulate demand for home purchase credit in the current period. On the other hand, the real estate market remains quiet, so individual customers are not interested in borrowing money to buy houses. They expect house prices and interest rates to decrease further.

Compared to the beginning of this year, lending interest rates are currently considered reasonable and are expected to return to low levels, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, by the end of the year.