Ho Chi Minh City offers the depth of Vietnam’s largest commercial metropolis but combines a 30% apartment cap with time-limited foreign ownership; Phnom Penh is smaller yet provides a wider quota, perpetual strata title and a largely USD operating model.
This is not a beach-versus-capital decision. Ho Chi Minh City is a much larger business ecosystem with deep domestic demand and several submarkets that function almost like separate cities. Phnom Penh is more compact, younger as a condominium market and more dependent on the execution of an individual project. Its advantage for an international buyer is a tenure and currency story that can often be explained more cleanly at the outset.
Under Vietnam’s Housing Law 2023, effective 1 January 2025, an eligible foreign individual may own an apartment in an approved commercial housing project, outside restricted defence and security areas, within a cap of 30% of the apartments in the building. The certificate generally records a term of up to 50 years from issuance. One extension of up to 50 years may be available subject to the statutory process, but it should not be underwritten as automatic. Cambodia allows eligible units above the ground level to be held under perpetual strata title, with foreign ownership of up to 70% of private-unit area in a co-owned building.
City averages are particularly misleading here. District 1 is a scarcity-and-centrality proposition; Thu Duc depends on infrastructure, education, technology and new employment clusters. In Phnom Penh, BKK1, Tonle Bassac, Koh Pich and outer growth corridors also serve different tenants. Every price, tax and yield figure is indicative only. Verify the project’s eligibility, foreign quota, certificate, remaining term, banking route and genuine comparable transactions at the date of purchase.
Rules and deal terms can change; check the exact unit, current documents and contract before committing.
| Criterion | Phnom Penh | Ho Chi Minh City |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign tenure | Perpetual strata title | Up to 50 years |
| Vietnamese extensions require a separate statutory process. | ||
| Foreign quota | Up to 70% area | Up to 30% units |
| The two jurisdictions use different denominators. | ||
| Eligible property | Co-owned building | Approved housing project |
| Vietnam also excludes specified defence and security areas. | ||
| Operating currency | Mostly USD | VND |
| Vietnamese contracts and payment evidence must follow local currency rules. | ||
| Unit evidence | Strata title | Certificate / pink book |
| A promised future certificate is not the same as an issued one. | ||
| Demand scale | Compact capital | Commercial megacity |
| Scale does not rescue a poorly connected project. | ||
| Core district thesis | BKK1, Bassac | District 1 |
| Central premiums require scarce supply and credible tenant depth. | ||
| Growth-cluster thesis | Koh Pich, corridors | Thu Duc |
| Separate delivered infrastructure from future announcements. | ||
| Resale profile | Thinner, perpetual | Deeper, term-limited |
| A foreign Vietnam buyer also tests quota and tenure. | ||
| Remote completion | Power of attorney | Possible, more formal |
| Legalisation, banking and certificate follow-up matter. | ||
| Primary risk | Project and liquidity | Quota, term, document |
| Developer and building governance matter in both cities. | ||
The larger economy and domestic buyer base create more tenant and resale segments. That depth must still be demonstrated at the project and commute level.
Perpetual strata title removes the countdown attached to the standard Vietnamese foreign certificate. Phnom Penh’s thinner resale market means entry quality remains decisive.
USD pricing and rents reduce conversion layers between the property and the investor’s reporting currency. They do not eliminate demand, value or operating risk.
District 1 can provide a rare central position in a major Asian metropolis. High basis, restricted new supply and certificate status require disciplined underwriting.
Phnom Penh often offers a lower absolute ticket for central or near-central strata inventory. Completion, occupancy and likely resale value matter more than the launch discount.
For an eligible foreign individual in Vietnam, the ownership term recorded in the certificate is generally no more than 50 years from issuance. The Housing Law 2023, effective from 1 January 2025, allows one extension of up to 50 years subject to the legal process. That is a meaningful statutory route, but it is not perpetual title and should not be valued as if the extension had already been granted.
The resale question is more important than the first buyer’s headline term. A purchaser selling after 12 years needs to establish how the next foreign buyer’s certificate will be treated, whether a fresh term or remaining term applies in the exact transaction, and which local authority will record it. Obtain a transaction-specific opinion before paying a deposit; sales material is not sufficient evidence.
An eligible Phnom Penh unit can be held by a foreigner under perpetual strata title. The land and restricted common interests do not become direct foreign land ownership, but the unit right does not count down. That is useful for succession and long holding periods. Phnom Penh’s weakness is market depth: perpetual tenure removes a legal timer, not the need for a credible tenant and resale market.
District 1 is a scarcity and centrality trade. Corporate offices, hotels, consulates, retail and the historic core support a premium for access rather than a low price per square metre. Limited new supply can protect differentiation, yet the high acquisition basis makes net returns sensitive to vacancy, service charges and fit-out quality.
Thu Duc is an infrastructure and employment-cluster proposition. Universities, technology nodes, logistics, major residential districts and the eastern transport corridor can create long-run demand, but only delivered connections and existing jobs pay today’s rent. A lower price than District 1 does not guarantee liquidity when multiple nearby projects release similar units.
Use the same discipline in Phnom Penh. BKK1 and Tonle Bassac offer established urban convenience; Koh Pich combines newer offices, leisure and residences; outer corridors rely more heavily on future connectivity and a lower ticket. A single citywide average suppresses the exact location risk an investor is being paid to take.
Vietnam’s apartment cap is based on the number of units in each building: foreign ownership cannot exceed 30%. A unit can therefore remain on a developer’s price list while being unavailable for foreign registration because the allocation is exhausted. The project must also be eligible for foreign ownership and outside restricted defence and security areas.
Before the deposit, confirm three matters in writing: the project is on or qualifies under the competent authority’s foreign-eligible list; capacity remains in the relevant tower; and the selected apartment has not been allocated elsewhere. The contract should state what happens to the deposit if the authority or quota prevents foreign registration. A salesperson’s assurance is not a substitute for documentary confirmation.
Cambodia’s ceiling of up to 70% is calculated by private-unit area in a co-owned building rather than by apartment count. A small number of large foreign-owned units can therefore consume more quota than the sales count suggests. In both cities, the allocation belongs to the exact building and registration date, not to the project brand in general.
Vietnamese real estate is contracted, accounted for and taxed in VND. A brochure may show a USD equivalent, but the sale agreement, instalment schedule and bank evidence must comply with local currency and foreign-exchange rules. Agree the receiving account, conversion method, source-of-funds file and future repatriation evidence before the main remittance. An informal offshore or dollar side-payment can create a gap between the contract and the money trail.
The pink book is the common name for the state certificate recording the apartment and associated rights. A foreign owner’s permitted term should appear in it. Buying before issuance can be normal in a primary project, but it transfers certificate-delay risk to the purchaser. Review the project’s land rights, approvals, developer financial obligations and contractual timetable for applying for the certificate.
Phnom Penh’s USD usage makes purchase, rent and reporting easier to reconcile for a dollar investor, while an issued strata title can be searched before completion. Off-plan Cambodian purchases still carry future-title risk. The meaningful comparison is not simply dollar versus dong; it is whether payer, contract, bank record and final ownership document form one auditable chain.
Ho Chi Minh City is larger than Phnom Penh by every practical demand measure: companies, universities, jobs, domestic migration and local-currency buyers. This provides more sources of occupancy and resale. It does not distribute them evenly. A poorly connected apartment with an inflated basis can remain vacant in a city of millions.
The dangerous shortcut is ‘population growth means everything sells’. New corridors can release thousands of competing units at once. Tenants choose on commute, school access, retail, management and total monthly cost. Domestic buyers consider bank valuations and mortgage affordability, while foreign buyers also require quota and eligible tenure. The two groups may not support the same price.
Phnom Penh is more exposed to a narrower corporate and expatriate demand base. In a well-positioned central building, however, the competitive set may be easier to map: a compact urban radius, USD rents and fewer directly comparable launches. Underwrite both cities at micro level using actual occupancy, executed leases and the next wave of competing towers.
Age affects any apartment through maintenance and obsolescence. A foreign-held Vietnamese unit also carries a tenure variable. As the certificate matures, buyers ask more about extension eligibility, procedure and residual value. Uncertainty can narrow the international buyer pool even where the building remains desirable.
Model two exit audiences from the beginning. A domestic buyer focuses on location, layout, mortgageability and local comparable values. A foreign buyer adds project eligibility, quota, term and repatriation evidence. If the apartment appeals only to foreigners and the quota is full or the tenure position is unclear, resale flexibility can contract sharply.
Phnom Penh’s strata title does not lose years, but its exit is constrained by different factors: weak building governance, low occupancy, unfinished phases, limited comparable data and competition from developer instalment plans. In both cities, the resilient asset is completed, individually documented, professionally managed, occupied for a real reason and purchased at a price supported by more than listings.
Ho Chi Minh City has far deeper employment and domestic demand, but a foreign buyer must still clear project eligibility, quota and term. Phnom Penh is smaller yet offers a perpetual eligible unit and a simpler dollar operating model. I would verify the certificate, remaining tenure, banking trail and whether the apartment works for a Vietnamese end user rather than only the foreign allocation.
Elvira Shamuratova
Founder of Elvira Cambodia · Associate Director at Pointer Property · strategic partner of NovAsia
The standard certificate term for an eligible foreign individual is up to 50 years from issuance. One extension of up to 50 years may be available through the statutory process; it is not automatic.
It is based on the number of apartments in the building. Availability should be confirmed for the exact tower before deposit and registration.
No. It must be in an eligible commercial housing project, outside restricted areas, with foreign quota still available.
It is the common term for the state certificate recording the home and associated rights. A foreign owner’s permitted term is stated in the document.
No. District 1 is a prime-centre thesis; Thu Duc is a cluster-and-infrastructure thesis. Each needs project-level rent, supply and exit evidence.
Marketing may quote a USD equivalent, but the contract and settlement must comply with VND and foreign-exchange rules. Agree the banking route before remitting.
Resale still depends on location, completion, occupancy, governance, pricing and the size of the buyer pool.
Build the comparison from net operating income rather than the advertised gross: strip out void months, management, the sinking fund and common-area charges, Vietnamese rental tax, sale costs and the spread on converting dong back to your home currency. Whatever survives that is the real figure, and a developer rental guarantee counts as counterparty risk, not yield.
Primary documents and datasets, with issuing body and date.
The country-specific rules belong in one guide, not repeated in full on every comparison.
Foreign ownership and strata title · Taxes, fees and cost of ownership
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