There are perceptions among some government agencies in Viet Nam that the interest rate should be much lower than market rates and be subsidized. Rather than focusing solely on the financing side, the complex issue of housing for the urban poor also needs to be looked at from the viewpoint of supply side constraints and the willingness of lenders to consider this an appropriate business line. Targeted subsidies that are separate from financing also need to be considered. Again, access to credit is more important than is providing interest rate subsidies. In every part of the developed and developing world, housing for low-income and poor people includes subsidies in some form as part of national social policy. Such schemes together with interest rate subsidies are plausible so long as the lending institutions continue to receive subsidies from the government.
Housing Finance Project