"New Holiday Trend: Visiting Hometown Instead of Relatives' Nagging"

30s Interested in Real Estate Investment... Exploring Regional Investment Spots on Return Trip
"Seoul is Fully Regulated... Non-Regulated Areas Like Busan, Daejeon, Daegu Are Rising"
Visiting Hometown to Check Places with Relatively Lenient Loan Restrictions and Resale Periods

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] "If you're going back to your hometown for the Lunar New Year holiday but don't want to hear nagging or feel bored, let's go on a field trip to redevelopment areas."

Inkyung Lee (34), a 10-year office worker living in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, is looking forward to the Lunar New Year holiday. Lee, whose hometown is Daejeon, used to feel stressed every year when visiting her family during the holidays because relatives would ask, "When are you getting married?" But this time, she has a good excuse to get out of the house: a field trip to inspect real estate sites.

Having developed an interest in apartments, Lee is currently looking for investment opportunities using a company loan, but she had given up on Seoul due to its high prices and strict regulations. Then she heard that the real estate market in Daejeon was heating up. She gathered a small group of people living in Daejeon whom she met through an online real estate study group, and they planned a field trip for the day after Lunar New Year. Lee said, "We decided to each find and suggest an area we want to visit," adding, "We plan to go to redevelopment complexes in Doma, Seo-gu, or places worth investing in pre-sale rights."

A new trend called "hometown field trips" during the Lunar New Year holiday has emerged. Young generations, who have turned to real estate due to the instability of stocks and funds, aim for a "two birds with one stone" strategy by visiting real estate sites in their hometowns while they are there. Following the Moon Jae-in administration's August 2 and December 16 measures, Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area have been designated as speculative overheated zones, speculative areas, and regulated zones. As a result, people have started to look toward local areas with lower barriers to loans and regulations.

In fact, investment by outsiders in local real estate is on the rise. According to statistics by residence of buyers from the Korea Real Estate Board, in December last year, there were 1,961 purchases in Daejeon by buyers from outside the jurisdiction, the highest for the year. Busan, which was removed from the regulated area, also saw 5,189 cases, Incheon 7,493, Gyeonggi 27,350, and Daegu 2,060, all the highest for the year. Although overall purchase numbers increased, the rise in local areas was greater compared to Seoul. Ham Young-jin, head of Zigbang Data Lab, said, "Seoul and the metropolitan area are still popular, but due to increased loan restrictions from the December 16 measures, interest in non-regulated local areas is growing."

The enthusiasm for non-regulated areas can also be seen in the recent "Zupzup" non-priority subscription applications. In non-regulated areas, resale is allowed after six months, and they are free from heavy capital gains tax, loan restrictions, and resale restrictions. In fact, on the 10th, the non-priority subscription competition rate for "Anyang Arteza" in Manan-gu, Anyang City, a non-regulated area, reached 4,191 to 1. With only 8 units available, a total of 33,524 people applied. The 76㎡A type, with only 1 unit available, attracted 8,498 applications, pushing the competition rate to 8,498 to 1. The 76㎡B type, with 2 units available, received 14,796 applications, showing a competition rate of 7,398 to 1.