"Special Act on First New Towns" Brings Mixed Feelings to Yoon's Real Estate Policy

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is attending a first-generation new town aging apartment issue inspection at Chowon 7 Complex Booyoung Apartments in Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 2nd. Photo by Transition Team Photographers

"The asking prices for sales have all risen within a month. The trading volume hasn't increased, but the available listings have sharply decreased." (Representative of Real Estate Agency A in Baekseok-dong, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province)

"Although they say it's a quick sale, the actual transaction price has dropped nearly 400 million KRW, so it's truly chaotic." (Representative of Real Estate Agency B in Poil-dong, Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi Province)

As the real estate policy of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration becomes clearer with the Presidential Transition Committee's announcement of national tasks, regional reactions are mixed. While the first-generation new towns, where housing prices had been stirring with expectations of deregulation after the presidential election, are anticipating further upward momentum, the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province and local cities seem to be faltering due to interest rate hikes and fatigue from peak prices.

According to the real estate information platform Asil on the 4th, since the presidential election day (March 9), the number of listings in Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, has sharply decreased by 10.2%. Bundang-gu in Seongnam-si dropped by 8.8%, Ilsandong-gu in Goyang-si by 4.8%, and Gunpo-si by 3.7%. All these areas are where first-generation new towns were developed, contrasting with an 8% increase in listings across Gyeonggi Province during the same period. The asking prices in these areas have also surged. For example, the asking price for an 81㎡ unit in Chowon 7 Complex Booyoung Apartment in Dongan-gu (Pyeongchon) is between 850 million and 950 million KRW. Considering the actual transaction price of 700 million KRW in March, this represents an increase of about 200 million KRW in just over a month.

On the other hand, areas outside the first-generation new towns, including Uiwang, which had the highest house price increase nationwide last year, are struggling. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, apartment prices in the metropolitan area fell by 0.19% up to the fourth week of April. Gyeonggi Province and Incheon dropped by 0.26% and 0.04%, respectively. An 84.98㎡ unit in Indukwon Prugio El Centro in Poil-dong, Uiwang-si, was traded for 1.25 billion KRW (17th floor) on the 11th of last month, which is about 400 million KRW lower than June last year (1.63 billion KRW).

The advancement of the first-generation new towns is evaluated to reflect expectations of benefiting from the new government's policies. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol personally visited the Chowon 7 Complex Booyoung Apartment on the 2nd. Representative C of a real estate agency in Pyeongandong said, "Right after Yoon's visit, inquiries about apartment listings not only here but also in other neighborhoods poured in."

As the Transition Committee announced the '110 National Tasks' to implement the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's national vision and goals the day before, this trend is expected to strengthen further. The committee presented the goal of enacting the 'First-generation New Town Special Act' to establish a foundation for supplying more than 100,000 housing units in the metropolitan area adjacent to Seoul, including Bundang, Ilsan, and Pyeongchon in Gyeonggi Province. Won Hee-ryong, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, also emphasized at the National Assembly confirmation hearing on the 2nd, "We will create and promote the First-generation New Town Special Act. We will immediately begin establishing a master plan."