Vietnam’s real estate market stands before a historic turning point with implementation of the Land Law 2024, particularly regulations on the new Land Price List applied from January 1, 2026. Below is a detailed newsletter compiled from research sources on land price developments and multidimensional impacts of this policy:

Pricing Revolution: Realistic and Annually Updated

The core point of new regulations is abolishing the old land price framework and replacing it with a land price list built on principles approaching market prices.

• Annual updates: Instead of a 5-year cycle as before, the land price list will be adjusted and announced on January 1 each year to truly reflect actual market fluctuations.
• Pricing to individual plots: For areas with digital cadastral maps and databases, land prices will be specifically determined for each plot based on value zones and standard plots.

Land prices in several areas adjusted significantly upward

Price Updates at Key Markets

Research from drafts and resolutions passed by localities shows land prices will undergo strong adjustments:

• Hanoi: Residential land prices on central Hoan Kiem District streets (location 1) are expected to reach the highest level above 702 million VND/m². Suburban districts like Dan Phuong, Hoai Duc are expected to increase an average of about 25-26% due to infrastructure development.
• Ho Chi Minh City: Expected to maintain highest prices on Dong Khoi, Le Loi, Nguyen Hue streets at 687.2 million VND/m². However, suburban agricultural land prices will be significantly increased to narrow the gap with residential land.
• Dong Nai: Highest urban residential land prices reach 49.5 million VND/m². In Long Khanh City, residential land prices range from 15 million to 400 million VND/m² depending on location.
• Binh Duong: Di An City has the highest price around 35.3 million VND/m² on class 1 roads. Tan Uyen City records prices on main roads exceeding 21 million VND/m².

Direct Impact on Citizens: Land Use Purpose Conversion Incentives

A breakthrough policy to reduce financial pressure on citizens when land prices increase is Resolution 254/2025/QH15.

• 70% land use fee reduction: When converting from agricultural land, garden ponds to residential land, the area within the limit only pays 30% of land price difference.
• Exceeding limit portion: Pay 50% difference (if not exceeding 1 times the limit) and 100% if exceeding that level.
• Significance: This regulation helps citizens easily ‘legalize’ land use rights, avoiding situations where conversion costs exceed the value of buying new land as before.

Impact on Market and Enterprises

Applying new market-realistic land price lists brings both opportunities and challenges:

• Activating housing price increases: The Ministry of Construction forecasts real estate and housing prices may increase 15-20% due to increased compensation costs and land use fees. For example, the proportion of land use fees in apartment sale prices at some HCMC projects may increase from 27% to 60-65%.
• Eliminating ‘dual pricing’: Publicly pricing close to market rates will eliminate declaring low contract prices to evade taxes, helping increase transparency and state budget revenue.
• Accelerating site clearance: When compensation meets market prices satisfactorily, people will more easily agree to hand over sites, helping infrastructure and real estate projects proceed on schedule.
• Market cleansing: Speculative land segments or ‘ghost’ projects lacking legal status will be strictly filtered, making way for products with genuine use value and solid legal standing.

2026 Outlook: Supply and Recovery

Despite land price increases, the 2026 market is expected to see positive changes thanks to resolving bottlenecks for nearly 3,000 stagnant projects. Supply is expected to improve strongly with about 160,000 affordable housing units released to market, helping self-regulate pricing and meet people’s genuine housing needs.

The new land price list system is like a mirror accurately reflecting the true value of assets: while it may ‘shock’ those accustomed to previous inflated prices, in the long run it creates a transparent, fair foundation for sustainable market development without distortion by unfounded ‘waves’ of speculation.