Solutions for a Healthy Real Estate Market

Idle Land – The Hidden Cost of a Free Market and a Wake-up Call for Vietnam’s Land Management

1. Tens of Thousands of Hectares Trapped in “Planning Limbo”

While land demand for housing, infrastructure, and production is soaring across Vietnam, a large amount of land remains idle or underutilized. According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, tens of thousands of hectares approved for urban, industrial, or commercial development remain untouched—years after being licensed.

Some developers deliberately delay construction to hoard land and speculate on rising prices, triggering market bubbles, disrupting urban planning, and creating pressure on public infrastructure. In major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, many “zombie projects” lie dormant while being used for collateral, transfers, or unauthorized fundraising.

2. Progressive Taxation: A Financial Lever to Curb Land Waste?

At a recent conference summarizing the implementation of Central Resolution 18-NQ/TW, Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà proposed a progressive land tax—with rates increasing over time or based on the number of properties owned.

The goal: use economic pressure to force landowners to utilize their land efficiently. However, he emphasized the need to target land speculators, not burden ordinary citizens or disrupt agricultural land accumulation policies encouraged for modern large-scale farming.

3. Expert Opinions: Tax Is a Tool—It Must Be Fair and Transparent

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Quang Tuyến (Hanoi Law University) supported taxing second properties—if designed fairly and transparently—as a human-centered policy to curb short-term speculation and stabilize the market.

Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Đặng Hùng Võ, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, emphasized that land tax should be based on use and scale of ownership, not just asset value. He also called for decentralizing land management to the local level, paired with independent oversight to avoid conflicts of interest.

4. What’s Needed for a Functional Policy: Data, Decentralization, Legal Reform

Dr. Đặng Huy Đông, former Deputy Minister of Planning & Investment, stressed that effective policy must:

• Accurately identify speculative behavior;

• Exclude legitimate agriculture or legal rental activities;

• Develop a real-time national land database using AI and blockchain;

• Align the Land Law with housing, construction, compensation laws;

• Strengthen local governance capacity with external oversight to prevent abuse.

5. The State’s Role: Regulate the Primary Market, Not Overreach

According to PGS. TS Trần Kim Chung (former Deputy Director of CIEM), the state should focus on primary market policies (planning, land allocation), while allowing the secondary market to operate under clear legal frameworks.

He also advocated for a market-based land valuation system, led by independent councils to avoid manipulation, corruption, and public asset loss.

Vietnam Needs to Move from Reactive to Evidence-Based Land Management

Vietnam is not lacking land—it lacks a transparent, enforceable, and data-driven management system. When land becomes a speculative tool rather than a productive asset, the entire economy suffers.

Building a transparent, inclusive, and efficient land system requires legal reform, data transparency, technological tools, and public oversight. Only then can land truly serve national development, not speculative profit.