HANOI: Vietnam is preparing to raise professional standards in its real estate brokerage sector amid warnings that rapid workforce expansion has outpaced training, transparency and risk management.
The Vietnam Association of Real Estate Brokers (VARS) estimated that around 300,000 people now work in real estate brokerage, alongside some 2,000 firms and trading floors in major cities, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Khanh Hoa and Can Tho.
Yet only just over 10% hold valid certificates, despite brokers handling nearly 80% of property transactions. More than half have never received formal training.
Pham Thi Mien, deputy director of VARS’ Institute of Research and Evaluation, said the sector’s rapid growth had exposed significant shortcomings in professional quality and standardisation.
“Professionalism and quality in brokerage remain limited and uneven,” she said.
Pham added that the absence of clear procedures and unified standards had created conditions for some brokers to provide incomplete or inaccurate information, fall short in advisory duties and operate informally without meeting legal requirements.
Low training quality and inconsistent professionalism have increased risks, undermined market transparency, distorted property values and eroded buyer confidence, said Hoang Thu Hang, deputy director of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department under the Ministry of Construction.
Experts said Vietnam could draw on lessons from international markets to build a more professional brokerage system.
Nguyen Manh Quynh, VARS deputy general-secretary, noted that developed markets combine legal regulations with professional standards, codes of ethics and competency assessments.
In the United States, the National Association of Realtors enforced a code of ethics alongside state‑level rules, while Singapore and Japan require licensing, continuous training and strict oversight.
As demand for transparency grows alongside market expansion, establishing national standards for real estate brokerage is becoming critical, Quynh said.
VARS is working with the Construction Ministry to develop Vietnam National Standards for Real Estate Brokerage, aimed at standardising practices.
This will icnlude improving service quality, enhancing market transparency, helping clients identify reputable firms and brokers, and supporting the professional and sustainable development of the industry.
VARS president Nguyen Van Dính said brokerage in a modern market economy should be treated as a professional service requiring legal knowledge, market insight, advisory skills and ethical standards.
“The new standards are not intended to control but to elevate professionalism and lay the foundation for a modern, transparent and internationally-aligned real estate brokerage system,” he said.
Nguyen Quang Tuyen of Hanoi Law University said professional brokers must be distinguished from informal land speculators through compliance with legal and ethical standards.
Nguyen Hong Phu from the Construction Ministry added that the standards should be supported by digitalised data systems and measurable indicators to objectively assess broker performance.
He suggested piloting the standards on a voluntary basis before gradually making them mandatory across the industry. — Viet Nam News/ANN
