[비즈한국] A BizHankook investigation has confirmed that in the week following the Lee Jae-myung administration's announcement on October 15 of strong demand-suppression measures—which designated all of Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province as regulated zones—more than half of the apartments reported as sold were traded at prices higher than their previous transactions. During this period, one in four apartments sold in Seoul reached a new record high price. The proportion of price increases and record-high transactions was notably higher in the Gangnam-3 districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa) and Yongsan-gu, which were already designated as regulated zones prior to the October 15 real estate measures.
According to an exhaustive analysis by BizHankook of real estate transaction records reported up to the 22nd (as of 21:05 extraction), out of 231 apartment units in Seoul for which sales were reported between the 16th and the 22nd, 56 units (24%) recorded a new high price for the same area within their respective complexes. In the existing regulated zones of the Gangnam-3 districts and Yongsan-gu, 11 out of 21 units (52%) hit record prices, while in the remaining districts newly designated as regulated zones, 45 out of 210 units (21%) were sold at record-high prices.
During this period, apartments sold at prices higher than their previous transactions accounted for more than half of the total. Of the 231 units reported sold in the last 7 days, 124 units (54%) were sold at prices higher than the last transaction for the same unit type in the same complex. In the Gangnam-3 districts and Yongsan-gu, 16 out of 21 units (76%) were sold at higher prices, while in the remaining newly regulated areas, 108 out of 210 units (51%) were traded at prices above their previous levels. For Seoul apartments with a dedicated area of 84㎡, often called the "national standard size," 75 units were sold during this period, with 41 units (55%) showing price increases.
Only 94 units (41% of the total) in Seoul were sold at prices lower than their previous transactions during this period. In the Gangnam-3 districts and Yongsan-gu, 5 out of 21 units (24%) were sold below previous prices, while in the other newly regulated districts, 89 out of 210 units (42%) were traded at lower prices than previous sales for the same unit size. Additionally, 13 units (6%) in the newly regulated zones were sold at the same price as their previous transactions.
On the 15th, the government unveiled powerful demand-suppression measures that bundled all of Seoul and 12 regions in Gyeonggi Province into regulated zones and land transaction permit zones. The regulated zones, which were previously limited to the Gangnam-3 districts and Yongsan-gu, were significantly expanded to include all 25 districts of Seoul, as well as Gwacheon, Gwangmyeong, the Yeongtong, Jangan, and Paldal districts of Suwon, the Bundang, Sujeong, and Jungwon districts of Seongnam, Dongan-gu in Anyang, Suji-gu in Yongin, Uiwang, and Hanam. New regulated zones under the October 15 real estate measures were designated on the 16th, the date of the official gazette publication, while the new land transaction permit zones were designated on the 20th, five days after the publication.
The core of the October 15 real estate measures is the expansion of regulated zones subject to strict loan restrictions. Once designated as a regulated zone, the Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio for those without a home or those planning to sell their existing single home is reduced from the current 70% to 40%, and the Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratio is also tightened to 40%. This effectively makes it more difficult to purchase a home using loans. Other regulations, such as heavy taxation on acquisition and capital gains, as well as restrictions on re-applying for housing subscriptions and reselling purchase rights, also apply (Related article: Lee Jae-myung Government Unveils 'Super-Strong' Real Estate Regulations… All of Seoul Designated as Regulated Zone).