[Agyeong Poll] "To Stabilize Real Estate, Activate Private Reconstruction and Redevelopment"

'Strengthening Property Tax' is the Second Most Common Response
70% Support Realistic Public Land Prices

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Citizens' opinions show that to stabilize the real estate market in Seoul, the supply should be increased by further activating private reconstruction and redevelopment. Strengthening property taxes, the government's basic policy direction, ranked second in the survey, while public-led supply received a lower response rate compared to private development.

About 70% agreed with the government's policy to realize the official land price, but many expressed that tax increases should be minimized through rate adjustments or that the burden should be raised only for owners of high-priced homes.

In a public opinion survey of Seoul citizens commissioned by Asia Economy to Win-G Korea Consulting, the question "What is the most appropriate measure to stabilize Seoul's real estate prices?" showed that 28.0% of respondents chose "expanding supply centered on private housing such as reconstruction and redevelopment," the highest response rate.

The government has so far pursued policies to strengthen regulations, viewing private reconstruction and redevelopment as causes of rising surrounding house prices, but the majority of Seoul citizens still prefer this approach.

Responses indicating that "strengthening holding taxes such as property tax and comprehensive real estate tax" is the most effective accounted for 21.2%. "Easing transaction taxes such as capital gains tax and acquisition tax" was 14.1%, "expanding supply centered on public housing by discovering idle land" was 14.0%, and "expanding supply through public-led reconstruction and redevelopment" was 10.5%. It is interpreted that awareness or interest in public development, proposed by the government as a new supply measure, is still low. Combining public housing supply through idle land discovery and development of existing residential areas reaches 24.5%, but it is still lower than the response rate for private supply measures.

However, among Democratic Party supporters, "strengthening holding taxes" (34.6%) was the highest, and "expanding supply centered on public housing" (17.3%) was also relatively high. In contrast, among People Power Party supporters, the opinion favoring "expanding supply centered on private housing" reached 46.6%. Respondents from the southeastern area (Gangnam, Gangdong, Seocho, Songpa districts) also showed 33.4% support for expanding private housing.

Regarding the government's policy direction to gradually raise the official land price realization rate to 90% by 2030, 69.2% supported it. Opposition to the realization of official land prices was only 21.1%.

It appears that the majority recognize problems with the current official land prices, which are far from market prices and lack fairness between apartment complexes and detached houses. However, concerns about tax burdens were expressed.

Among all respondents, 30.4% said, "Property tax should be raised only for owners of high-priced homes," and 19.7% said, "Holding tax rates should be lowered to maintain the current tax burden level." Those who responded that "it is right to raise property tax for all homeowners" accounted for 19.1%. Among People Power Party supporters, 41.6% opposed the realization itself, and in the southeastern area, opposition was relatively high at 30.0%.

The government and ruling party have agreed to lower property tax rates for single-homeowners while raising the official land price realization rate, and are currently finalizing the specific scope and targets. At this point, it is highly likely to apply only to homes valued under 600 million KRW, which is expected to provoke opposition from homeowners in Seoul and the metropolitan area.

This survey was conducted among men and women aged 18 and over residing in Seoul, with an overall response rate of 8.07%, totaling 1,000 respondents. The sample was extracted with weighting by gender, age, and region (cell weighting). The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed survey information, refer to the Win-G Korea Consulting website or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.