Excluding Small Houses and Regional Unsold Units from Housing Count... Exemption from Capital Gains and Comprehensive Real Estate Taxes

Government Announces Measures to Expand Housing Supply and Support Construction Market
Multiple Newly Built Small Houses Purchased Excluded from Housing Count
Multiple Unsold Houses Purchased After Local Completion Excluded from Heavy Taxation

The government is pushing for a legal amendment to exclude capital gains tax and comprehensive real estate holding tax surcharges even when purchasing multiple newly built small houses, in order to expand the supply of various types of housing. In the case of local areas where unsold housing inventory is becoming severe, unsold houses completed with a price of 600 million KRW or less will be excluded from the housing count.

View of the Noryangjin redevelopment site in Seoul from the 63 Building observatory. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 10th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the 'Housing Supply Expansion and Construction Industry Support Plan' and stated that newly built small houses completed within the next two years will be excluded from the housing count even if multiple units are purchased, thereby excluding capital gains tax and comprehensive real estate holding tax surcharges.

The target houses are residential officetels, multi-family houses, collective housing excluding apartments, and urban lifestyle housing with exclusive area of 60㎡ or less, priced at 600 million KRW or less in the metropolitan area, and 300 million KRW or less in local areas.

Currently, the capital gains tax surcharge is temporarily excluded until May, but it will be permanently excluded through an amendment to the enforcement decree. The comprehensive real estate holding tax surcharge, which applies only to owners of three or more houses (exceeding 1.2 billion KRW), will also be excluded through the enforcement decree amendment. The enforcement decree will be amended in February.

From today until the end of 2025, in non-metropolitan areas, multiple purchases of unsold houses completed with an exclusive area of 85㎡ or less and priced at 600 million KRW or less will not be counted as housing units. In other words, capital gains tax and comprehensive real estate holding tax surcharges will be excluded. Tax support for unsold houses completed in non-metropolitan areas also includes apartments.

Existing single-homeowners who purchase multiple unsold houses completed in local areas within one year will be eligible for the one household one house special case if it is their first purchase.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained that the number of unsold houses completed nationwide is estimated at 11,000 units, with 9,000 units concentrated in local areas.

A ministry official said, "We judged that more benefits should be given to unsold apartments completed in local areas. Since most houses are priced at 600 million KRW or less, we judged that the value is not excessive," and added, "Overall, considering that the construction industry is in crisis."