Buying in Ho Chi Minh City vs back home: a 50-year key or a freehold one

The taxes in Saigon are light. The catch is what you actually own, and for how long.

The short version

• An Australian who has entered Vietnam legally can buy an apartment or house in a commercial housing project, but not land, and only within foreign quotas: 30% of the apartments in a building [1].
• Foreign ownership runs for up to 50 years from the date of the certificate, with one extension of up to 50 years [1].
• The single biggest cost difference: Vietnam's registration fee is 0.5% of the value, about VND 90 million (A$5,000) on VND 18 billion, while NSW transfer duty on A$1 million is about A$39,200 [2][5].
• When you sell, Vietnam taxes 2% of the sale price, gain or no gain [3].
• Sell an Australian home as a foreign resident and you generally lose the main residence CGT exemption [7].

Can an Australian buy in Vietnam?

Yes, under the 2023 Law on Housing, which took effect in August 2024. Foreign individuals permitted to enter Vietnam can own homes, and the decree that sits under the law asks for a valid passport with a Vietnamese entry stamp [1]. You don't need to be a resident.

The limits are what make Vietnam different [1]:

1. What you can buy. Apartments and houses in commercial housing projects, outside areas reserved for defence and security. Land itself stays with the state; you hold the home and a right to use the land under it.
2. Building quota. Foreigners can own no more than 30% of the apartments in one building, counted block by block.
3. Area quota. For houses, foreigners can own up to 250 in an area with a population of about 10,000, across all projects.
4. Time limit. Up to 50 years from the date your certificate is issued, extendable once by up to 50 years. You apply to the provincial People's Committee at least three months before expiry.
5. What happens at the end. If you don't extend, you can sell or give the home to an eligible person before expiry. Leave it, and it becomes public property.

A purchase that breaches the quota is invalid and no certificate is issued [1]. That's why it pays to check, in writing, that the unit you're buying sits within the foreign quota before you pay a dong. Expat favourites such as Thao Dien, Phu My Hung and Binh Thanh have plenty of commercial projects, but quota status varies building by building.

What changes with a Vietnamese spouse or citizenship

Foreign spouses of Vietnamese citizens get extra rights, which depend on whether the Vietnamese spouse lives in Vietnam [1]. If you hold Vietnamese citizenship yourself, you buy as a local, without quotas or a 50-year limit.

Upfront costs side by side

Rates as at November 2026. Dong amounts with AUD at the RBA rate of VND 18,014 on 5 November 2026.

On a new apartment, the maintenance fund is often a bigger cheque than the registration fee. Check the sale contract for it.

Getting a loan

In Ho Chi Minh City

Lending to foreigners in Vietnam is limited and varies bank by bank. Without long-term Vietnamese income and residence, assume you'll be paying cash, usually in stages tied to a developer's payment schedule on new projects. If a bank will lend, expect it to want local income, a local account and documents translated into Vietnamese.

Back home

Australian lenders will consider Vietnamese income, but the dong isn't on every lender's list of accepted currencies, so your choice of lender narrows. Those that do lend tend to discount part of your income for currency risk and cap your LVR below what a local gets. If you're paid in US dollars, the options widen. Our guide to home loans for Australians abroad explains what lenders look at.

Holding costs

The rental threshold changed with Vietnam's 2026 tax reforms, so check the current figure with a local tax adviser before you set the rent.

The ATO view. While you remain an Australian tax resident, you must declare worldwide income, including rent from Saigon, and can usually offset Vietnamese tax paid against Australian tax [6].

Selling and tax

Vietnam

Vietnam's personal income tax on a property sale is simple: 2% of the transfer price, whether you made a profit or a loss [3]. The new personal income tax law that took effect on 1 July 2026 keeps that rate [3].

Getting the money out takes paperwork. Sale proceeds are paid in dong, and converting and sending them abroad means showing the bank where they came from and that tax was paid. Keep every contract and receipt from the day you buy.

The 50-year clock matters for resale too. A home with 15 years left on a foreign owner's term may be less attractive to the next foreign buyer than one with 45.

Australia

1. Main residence exemption. If you're a foreign resident when you sell your Australian home, you generally can't claim it, unless you meet the narrow life events test [7].
2. Withholding. Every Australian property sale since 1 January 2025 carries 15% withholding unless the seller hands over an ATO clearance certificate, which only Australian residents can get [8].
3. Tax on the Saigon sale. As an Australian resident, any gain on your Vietnamese apartment can also be taxed in Australia, with credit for Vietnamese tax [6].

Currency risk

Exchange rates can move a long way over a decade. If your plan is to sell in Vietnam and bring money home in 10 years, run your numbers with a weaker dong as well as a stronger one.

A worked example

Illustration only. About A$1 million in both places: a new VND 18 billion apartment in Ho Chi Minh City (about A$999,000) and a A$1,000,000 home in NSW. Plenty of apartments in the city sell for much less; the percentages scale. Notary, legal, agent and loan costs are left out, and we've used the common 2% maintenance contribution for a new apartment.

The NSW sum is A$11,602 plus 4.5% of A$613,000.

Upfront, Saigon comes in about A$14,000 cheaper. But you're comparing a 50-year interest in an apartment with a freehold home, and the Vietnamese one can only be sold on to a buyer who fits the rules.

Which suits whom

Neither is the right answer for everyone. Things to weigh:

• How long you'll stay. Vietnam's low entry costs suit people planning to live there for years; a short contract makes the paperwork hard to justify.
• Exit plan. Foreign quotas and the remaining term shape who can buy from you and at what price.
• Rental demand. Expat-friendly areas of the city have an active rental market; check that the building's rules allow leasing.
• Coming home. If you'll return to Australia, buying there keeps your asset in the country you'll live in, subject to the CGT and withholding rules above.
• Cash. Vietnam is largely a cash market for foreigners. Australian lenders will lend on your income, but on expat terms.
• Succession. A Vietnamese home passes under Vietnamese rules and inherits the same foreign ownership limits. Update your will to cover both countries.

Compare notes with other Aussies in Cooee Vietnam, our Facebook group for Australians in Vietnam.

Sources

1. Can foreigners buy real estate in Vietnam? – Vietnam Law & Legal Forum
2. Registration fee rates for vehicles, houses and land – Vietnam Lawyers Journal, Vietnam Bar Federation (September 2025, Vietnamese)
3. New Personal Income Tax Law – KPMG Vietnam (January 2026, PDF)
4. Vietnam's property tax regime in 2025 – Vietnam Briefing (Dezan Shira & Associates)
5. How to calculate transfer duty – Revenue NSW
6. Australian resident for tax purposes: foreign and worldwide income – Australian Taxation Office
7. Main residence exemption for foreign residents – Australian Taxation Office
8. Foreign resident capital gains withholding overview – Australian Taxation Office
9. Tax rates for foreign residents – Australian Taxation Office

Keep reading

• Renting in Ho Chi Minh City as an Australian
• Working and doing business in Vietnam as an Australian
• Buying the home you'll move back into
• Foreign income and Australian lenders: how your salary is assessed