The average housing price in Vietnam is 23.75 times higher than the annual household income, local newspaper VnExpress reported Monday, citing statistics site Numbeo.

According to the Ministry of Construction, Vietnam's house-price-to-income metric has risen by a fifth since 2019, which means houses have become increasingly out-of-reach for Vietnamese in the past five years.

Many countries across the globe use the metric to assess the "reasonableness" of housing prices.

Real estate agency Avison Young Vietnam assessed that an increasing number of young Vietnamese are considering renting instead of purchasing a house.

David Jackson, CEO of Avison Young Vietnam, was quoted by VnExpress as saying that housing should be seen as "essential infrastructure for social welfare" just like roads, electricity and water.

"Thus, housing development policies should be built with the aim of addressing social welfare issues and be supported by long-term state investment funds as well as subsidized credit," he said.