Real estate businesses have a headache with the problem of finding land funds.

Sharing about the land fund development plan in 2025, Malaysian real estate group SkyWorld said that it has a plan to hunt for raw land and complete legal procedures to develop the project. According to the representative of this group, the current difficulty is waiting for some localities to complete the land price list to determine the input costs. From there, the conversion cost from agricultural land to residential land can be calculated and included in the product selling price. It is likely that land prices and related costs will increase when the new price list is applied annually.

In addition, in the journey to find land funds, this enterprise said it is also considering the possibility of participating in land auctions, but is afraid that auction land costs will increase according to market developments.

Besides acquiring raw land funds, the direction that many investors prefer is still the transfer of clean land funds. Investor An Gia chose to focus on M&A to access land funds that can be quickly implemented. This year, this enterprise aims to acquire projects that have been approved for investment in the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City.

An Gia representative said that the company's goal is to find land at a reasonable price to balance the cost of developing affordable products. However, land prices and land use costs are increasing significantly compared to before, causing many difficulties for investors who want to develop this type of housing. "It is very difficult to find land to build mid-range houses because there is not much clean land left and the cost is high. Selling at a high price makes it difficult for buyers to access," said An Gia representative.

Also having a strategy to find clean land with full legal documents through transfer and auction activities, Mr. Angus Liew, General Director of Gamuda Land, admitted that the story of land fund development is no longer easy. This is a challenge and a headache for many businesses. Increased project development costs will directly affect the selling price of products and narrow the accessibility of home buyers.

This year, in addition to central land funds, this enterprise has planned to expand to more distant areas, taking advantage of infrastructure to develop products at reasonable prices.

Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Huong, Investment Director of Nam Long Group, said that she is focusing on three main directions including acquiring existing projects through M&A (project transfer), participating in clean land auctions, and looking to buy raw land and agricultural land with changed use purposes.

Ms. Huong said that land accumulation faces many challenges when development costs increase, especially through the two channels of auction and conversion of land use purposes. The limited supply of auctioned products has pushed up the winning rate, leading to an increase in land prices for projects, putting great pressure on input costs and possibly slowing down project implementation. With the agricultural land accumulation channel, many investors are participating in this race. However, developing agricultural land funds takes a lot of time, and conversion costs are not low, especially after the new land price list is applied from 2026.

However, according to Ms. Huong, Nam Long has enough time to accumulate raw land funds and change the purpose of use because it has more than 700 hectares of clean land. "In the next 5 years, our company will not worry about a lack of land for projects. As for businesses that need land funds for quick implementation, buying agricultural land still needs to be carefully considered," she said.

Looking at the current land fund story in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Head of Investment Department of VinaLiving (VinaCapital) said that it is both scarce and "hot". If investors want to make projects that suit the needs and finances of the majority, they cannot afford the land cost. This is also the reason why Ho Chi Minh City is mostly high-end and luxury housing.

In addition, other input costs are increasing. Land use fees, construction material prices are increasing sharply, combined with inflationary pressures, forcing businesses to calculate very carefully to ensure reasonable selling prices. If housing prices are too high, not only will people face difficulties, but businesses will also be affected in maintaining operations.

Regarding the difficulties of the market in the coming years, Mr. Vo Huynh Tuan Kiet, Director of CBRE Vietnam, said that land fund growth is the annual criterion and target that real estate businesses must implement. With the regulations from the 3 new laws (Land, Housing, Real Estate Business), businesses will have different ways to access land funds.

Most investors must carefully calculate to balance input costs and focus on the strategy of expanding land funds to satellite cities and areas surrounding Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. This is and will be the main direction of the market in the coming years. Strong investment in infrastructure and cost pressure will push both long-standing investors and new players to the market to move together.

Mr. Tran Hieu, Deputy General Director of DKRA Group, said that not only Ho Chi Minh City and other large cities in Vietnam, land prices in many localities across the country are also changing dramatically. Not only this year, from next year onwards, when the new land price list is applied, the market will have many changes. Enterprises themselves are under no small amount of pressure when land prices increase sharply. The increase in land costs along with other usage costs will contribute to pushing the final selling price to a level that is difficult to access.

According to him, the authorities need to review and adjust regulations and policies more flexibly to create conditions for real estate businesses to develop. When businesses exist and develop stably, the market will also benefit, both in terms of housing supply and project quality.