The real estate policy of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which marks its one-year anniversary on June 4, has emphasized a market order centered on actual residents and the suppression of speculative demand. Since taking office, the government has implemented a series of financial, tax, and administrative regulations aimed at putting pressure on multiple homeowners and gap investors.
These stringent regulations have sent warning signals to the overheated high-end housing market, effectively dampening speculative buying. However, critics argue that the focus on demand suppression has revealed limitations in expanding actual supply and stabilizing rental markets.
Shortly after taking office, the government introduced measures such as the June 27 financial regulations, the October 15 housing market stabilization plan, and the resumption of increased capital gains taxes for multiple homeowners, tightening loans, transactions, and tax regulations simultaneously. Following these regulations, there were short-term effects such as a slowdown in price increases and an influx of distressed sales in parts of the Gangnam area and the Han River belt.
However, as time has passed, a phenomenon of inventory lockup has emerged. According to real estate big data firm Asil, as of May 29, the number of apartment listings in Seoul stood at 61,767, a 9.8% decrease from 68,495 listings on May 9, just before the end of the capital gains tax exemption. Analysts suggest that multiple homeowners are withdrawing their listings or opting for gifting properties, leading to a reduction in available inventory.
Price trends are also becoming unstable again. According to the Korea Real Estate Agency, the rate of increase in apartment sales prices in Seoul for the third week of May was 0.31%, the highest level in seven months. While the price surge in the Gangnam area has slowed, demand is shifting to the relatively less regulated northern districts and areas outside Seoul.
The instability in the rental market is another key variable in evaluating the policy. The government believed that transferring homes owned by multiple homeowners to actual residents would limit shocks to the rental market. However, there are growing concerns about a decrease in rental listings and rising prices.
Lee Chang-moo, a professor at Hanyang University, analyzed during a seminar titled 'Evaluation of Real Estate Policy in the First Year of the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration and Future Tasks' that the average rent in Seoul has increased by 8.66% over the past 11 months since the administration took office. In the four northern districts of Gangbuk, Nowon, Dobong, and Seongbuk, rental prices surged by 12.63%, while monthly rents rose by 13.14%.
The government is also pursuing supply measures. Through the September 7 plan, it set a goal to supply 1.35 million housing units in the metropolitan area during its term, and in the early part of the year, it announced plans to supply 10,000 units in the Yongsan International Business District. Recently, it has also announced plans to expand non-apartment supply, public rental purchases, and utilize idle urban spaces.
However, there are still criticisms regarding the lack of specificity about the timing, location, and quality of the supply that the market desires. While construction goals and permit quantities have been presented, the actual move-in dates, location competitiveness, and quality standards to replace preferred apartment features remain unclear.
Choi Hwang-soo, a professor at Konkuk University, commented, "While the government's justification for curbing speculative demand is clear, the details needed to create an exit for the market's self-correcting mechanisms are lacking."
Ko Jun-seok, CEO of J.Edu Investment Advisory, stated, "If new supply is difficult to come by immediately, there should have been consideration for opening pathways for existing properties owned by multiple homeowners to re-enter the market."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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