Saigon Pearl Apartments 2026: Foreigners Can Now Buy — What HCMC’s New Foreign-Ownership List Means for Resale Buyers
Short answer: yes. On 8 October 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee published its 13th batch of housing projects that foreign individuals and organisations may own in — 10 projects in total. One of them is the Saigon River Mixed-Use Residential Area, better known as Saigon Pearl, phases 1, 2 and 3B, in Thanh My Tay ward, developed by Vietnam Land SSG Co., Ltd. (Bao Xay Dung and CafeF, 8 October; VnExpress, 9 October 2026).
Being on the list is the first gate, not the last. Foreigners can still own no more than 30% of the apartments in any one tower, for a 50-year term that can be extended. And Saigon Pearl is unusual on the list: its towers were handed over years ago, so most purchases will be resales from existing owners, not new units from a developer. This guide covers what the listing means, which towers it includes, how the quota plays out in an occupied building, and the steps to end up with a certificate in your own name.
Saigon Pearl — Key Facts on Listing Day, 8 October 2026
Table of Contents
What Was Announced on 8 October 2026
HCMC added ten commercial housing projects to the list of developments where foreigners may own homes. Bao Xay Dung (the Construction Ministry’s newspaper) and CafeF both describe it as the city’s 13th such batch, and the Department of Construction will publish the project details on the city’s official portal. The ten projects, cross-checked across Bao Xay Dung, CafeF and VnExpress:
| # | Project | Ward / commune | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Towers C1 and C2, Hung Phu residential area | Tam Binh | Hung Phu Invest JSC |
| 2 | Hoang Ha My residential area | An Phu | Hoang Ha My Real Estate Co. |
| 3 | Mixed residential, commercial and office area | An Khanh | G Homes Development JSC |
| 4 | The Emerald 68 | Binh Hoa | Le Phong Group JSC |
| 5 | The Emerald River Park | Lai Thieu | Minh Phuc Real Estate Co. |
| 6 | Thanh Loc apartment, retail and hotel complex | Thuan An | Thanh Loc Real Estate Investment Co. |
| 7 | Loc Phu Gia residential area | Phuoc Hoa commune | Levacom Real Estate JSC |
| 8 | Lot A high-rise, Tan Phu residential area | Tan My | Bao Gia JSC |
| 9 | Dong Duong apartments and retail centre (phase 1) | Dien Hong | Kingdom Dong Duong JSC |
| 10 | Saigon Pearl — Saigon River Mixed-Use Residential Area (phases 1, 2, 3B) | Thanh My Tay | Vietnam Land SSG Co., Ltd. |
On the running total: reports differ. VnExpress puts the number of HCMC projects open to foreign buyers at 158; Bao Xay Dung says “about 160” and CafeF says 160. The city had 148 at the end of August. We use roughly 158–160 until the Department of Construction publishes the full list. For a buyer, the total matters less than two narrower questions: is the project I’m looking at on the list, and does the tower I want still have foreign slots?
Saigon Pearl at a Glance: Ruby, Topaz, Sapphire and Opal
Saigon Pearl sits at around 92 Nguyen Huu Canh on the Saigon River, now in Thanh My Tay ward (formerly Binh Thanh District), a short drive from Landmark 81 and the old District 1 core. The developer is Vietnam Land SSG Co., Ltd., a joint venture involving SSG Group. Public project information describes three phases:
| Phase | Towers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Ruby 1, Ruby 2 | Handed over around 2009 |
| Phase 2 | Topaz 1, Topaz 2 · Sapphire 1, Sapphire 2 | Topaz handed over around late 2009, after Ruby |
| Phase 3B | Opal | Roughly 40 storeys on a podium, 400+ apartments; handed over around 2019–2020 |
Unit counts and handover dates vary between public sources (Opal is listed at 435 or 445 units, completed late 2019 or mid-2020), so the table gives ranges only. What is not in doubt is the scope of the 8 October listing: phases 1, 2 and 3B, which covers all four tower groups buyers usually ask about.
For expatriates, the appeal is familiar: an established riverside community going back more than 15 years, a direct run into the city centre along Nguyen Huu Canh, and a long history as a rental address for foreign professionals. The caveat is just as familiar: these are towers that have been lived in for years, so condition varies a lot from building to building and from unit to unit.
Illustrative photo: Pimnl · Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0 (Realtique image kit — not a photo of Saigon Pearl)
Why a Development Finished in 2009 Is Only Now on the List
Under Vietnam’s 2023 Housing Law (in force since 1 August 2024), foreigners may own commercial housing only inside residential projects that are outside areas reserved for national defence and security, and each provincial People’s Committee publishes the list of qualifying projects. HCMC releases that list in batches. Until a project appears on it, a foreign buyer cannot complete the ownership registration there, however long ago the building was finished.
Batch 13 shows the list is not only about new launches. Alongside projects in Thuan An, Lai Thieu and An Phu, the city added an occupied riverside estate. For the resale market, that opens a legal supply of foreign-ownable apartments in a central location where almost no new apartments are being built.
VnExpress links the expansion to housing demand from foreign experts and engineers as HCMC builds its international financial centre. That is the policy direction, not a loosening of the rules: the quota and the 50-year term below are unchanged.
The 30% Quota Is Per Tower — Ask Which Tower Still Has Slots
The 2023 Housing Law caps foreign ownership at 30% of the apartments in a single condominium building. The cap is counted per tower, not across the whole project. At Saigon Pearl, Ruby 1, Ruby 2, Topaz, Sapphire and Opal are separate buildings, each with its own allowance — and each may be in a very different position. Our guide to the 30% quota explains how the cap is counted.
A project the Department of Construction has just reported on shows how this plays out in practice. At Sensation in An Khanh ward (CapitaLand Thanh Nien), 81 units were cleared for sale to foreigners, 57 were signed in the first batch and 24 remain (VnExpress, 7 October 2026).
Graphic: Realtique · Data: HCMC Department of Construction, reported by VnExpress, 7 Oct 2026
Buying a Resale Unit at Saigon Pearl: Five Steps to Your Own Title
Most Saigon Pearl purchases will be resales. The 2023 Housing Law allows foreign individuals to own commercial housing in listed projects through purchase, lease-purchase, gift or inheritance. The sequence we follow with clients:
- Pin down the tower and confirm its remaining foreign slots. There is no public figure yet for slots left in each Saigon Pearl tower. Ask for written confirmation through the developer or the relevant authority before paying a deposit; in towers that already have many foreign owners, the allowance may be full.
- Check the seller’s pink book: the registered owner, floor area, any mortgage or dispute and, if the unit is let, how long the lease has to run.
- Check your own eligibility. A foreign individual must have lawfully entered Vietnam (a valid passport with an entry stamp). Overseas Vietnamese who still hold Vietnamese citizenship buy as domestic citizens and do not use up the foreign quota.
- Sign a notarised sale contract and settle taxes and fees. Typically the seller pays 2% personal income tax on the sale price and the buyer pays a 0.5% registration fee; the parties can agree otherwise, as long as it is written into the contract.
- Register the transfer and receive a new certificate in your name. For a foreign individual it carries an ownership term of up to 50 years, extendable; a foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen can own on a long-term, stable basis.
The wider process — from deposit to handover — is set out in our step-by-step guide to buying property in Vietnam. Taxes, fees and processing times can change and may differ in practice.
How Many Homes Do Foreigners Own in Vietnam?
Ministry of Construction figures reported by VnExpress on 9 October 2026 show 6,188 homes owned by foreigners with certificates issued nationwide: 5,772 held by individuals and 416 by organisations. Since the 2023 Housing Law took effect, foreigners have bought and registered 1,519 apartments.
Those are small numbers against the size of the market. But foreign demand is concentrated in a handful of neighbourhoods — Thao Dien, the old District 1, Phu My Hung and the Nguyen Huu Canh riverside — so the 30% cap tends to fill in exactly the towers foreigners want. Adding a central riverside estate like Saigon Pearl matters for that reason: more towers to choose from in an area expatriates already know. Our Binh Thanh foreign buyer’s guide covers the wider neighbourhood.
Graphic: Realtique · Data: Ministry of Construction, reported by VnExpress, 9 Oct 2026
Next Door to Saigon Pearl: Sunwah Pearl, Available Now
Right beside Saigon Pearl is Sunwah Pearl (90 Nguyen Huu Canh) — a separate project with a different developer, but on the same road and with the same kind of residents. If you need to buy in your own name now, while tower-by-tower slots at Saigon Pearl are still being confirmed, Realtique is offering a Sunwah Pearl apartment with a foreign-ownership slot, and a furnished unit to rent if you would rather live in the area before you buy.
Want to live there first? 52 sqm furnished one-bedroom for rent at Sunwah Pearl, 23 million VND a month (management fee not included).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can foreigners buy an apartment at Saigon Pearl?
Yes. On 8 October 2026 HCMC added the Saigon River Mixed-Use Residential Area (Saigon Pearl), phases 1, 2 and 3B, to its list of housing projects foreigners may own in (batch 13). Foreign ownership is still capped at 30% of the apartments in each tower, so check that your chosen tower has slots left before paying a deposit.
Which towers make up Saigon Pearl?
According to public project information, phase 1 is Ruby 1 and Ruby 2, phase 2 is Topaz 1, Topaz 2, Sapphire 1 and Sapphire 2, and phase 3B is the Opal tower. The 8 October 2026 listing covers phases 1, 2 and 3B.
Can a foreigner buy a resale unit at Saigon Pearl from a Vietnamese owner?
The 2023 Housing Law lets foreign individuals own commercial housing in listed projects through purchase, lease-purchase, gift or inheritance. Buying a unit that already has a pink book is a purchase, provided the tower still has room within its 30% cap and the buyer has lawfully entered Vietnam. Get the slot position confirmed in writing first.
How long can a foreigner own a Saigon Pearl apartment?
A foreign individual receives a certificate with an ownership term of up to 50 years, which can be extended. A foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen can own on a long-term, stable basis.
Do overseas Vietnamese count toward the 30% foreign quota?
Overseas Vietnamese who still hold Vietnamese citizenship buy and own as domestic citizens: they do not count toward the 30% cap and are not limited to a 50-year term. People of Vietnamese origin who hold only a foreign nationality are treated as foreigners.
⚠️ Note: The project list is compiled from Vietnamese press reports of 8–9 October 2026; the HCMC Department of Construction will publish the official list, which may differ in detail. Tower unit counts and handover dates come from public sources that do not fully agree. This article is not legal or investment advice — before paying a deposit, get written confirmation of the project’s listing status and the foreign-slot position of the exact tower you are buying in.
Looking at a unit in Saigon Pearl or along Nguyen Huu Canh?
Send Realtique the tower and unit you have in mind. We check the remaining foreign slots for that exact tower, review the seller’s pink book and price every tax and fee up front, so you know you can take title before you pay a deposit.
📞 Hotline: +84 866 810 689
KC Pham
KC Pham advises foreign buyers and overseas Vietnamese on completed apartments along Nguyen Huu Canh and Binh Thanh — confirming which tower still has foreign slots, checking the seller’s pink book, and staying with the buyer until the new certificate is issued in their name.
