The law as it is now does not allow foreigners to buy property in Vietnam.
This law is currently under review by the government.
Recently, permission has been given for foreign residents to purchase houses on Phu Quoc island in a bid to boost investment.
Foreigners are currently not permitted to buy houses in the rest of the country while only four categories of overseas Vietnamese are eligible for house purchase.
The statute gives the thumbs-up to overseas Vietnamese, foreign-invested enterprises and individuals to build houses for lease and sales or sublease and transfer land use rights of land areas with infrastructure.
The decision also allows permanent foreign residents to take long-term lease of land and overseas Vietnamese to purchase houses with attached land use right.
However, it does not detail how long foreign residents can take land lease and purchase houses.
The most popular houses are 200-square-meter properties, built for wealthy people and available for around $110,000 dollars.
Most of the foreigners living in Vietnam are renting accommodation, and are dealing only with development housing and commercial real estate.