"Check Market Price in One Day After Contract"…Development of 'Real Estate Integrated Index System'

Faster Than Ministry of Land System by Over a Month
Reflecting Actual Transaction Data, Not Asking Prices
"Resolving Information Asymmetry, Reducing Transaction Accidents"

A statistical system that allows real estate transaction information to be identified immediately upon contract signing will be launched. By the end of the year, it will be possible to check housing prices up to a month faster than the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s real transaction price system.

Lee Jong-hyuk, President of the Korea Association of Realtors, is speaking at the 'Real Estate Integrated Index System (KARIS)' press briefing held on the 13th at the Federation of Korean Industries Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kwon Hyun-ji

The Korea Association of Realtors held a press briefing on the 13th at the Federation of Korean Industries building in Yeouido, Seoul, announcing the start of operation of the “Real Estate Integrated Index System (KARIS, Korea Association of Realtors Index System).” KARIS is a system that compiles statistics from more than 53 million sales and lease contract data owned by the Korea Association of Realtors. It provides information on price changes and rental trends not only for apartments and houses but also for non-residential real estate such as commercial buildings and land.

KARIS allows real estate prices to be confirmed within one day after the contract. It reflects real transaction price information immediately upon contract signing by utilizing contract and property verification data within the “Hanbang Transaction Information Network,” which is used by about 80% of licensed real estate agents nationwide. Currently, the real estate price index provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport experiences a time lag of up to one month from contract completion to reporting, making it difficult to reflect the rapidly changing market conditions in real time.

The association explained, “Because contract information signed by licensed real estate agents is immediately databased, rapid numerical reflection for statistics is possible,” adding, “Within 3 to 4 months, the general public will be able to check real transaction information for desired listings and regions through the Hanbang Transaction Information Network application.”

Additionally, unlike “KB Real Estate,” which uses asking prices, KARIS is built based on actual transaction contract information. The association emphasized, “Since it compiles actual contract information, it has high reliability and can datafy most transactions occurring domestically,” and “It can also detect abnormal signs such as false real transaction price reports, expanding its use for public interest data and policy formulation.”

Customized information is also provided. For example, it is possible to understand appropriate rental fees (deposit and monthly rent) for offices and stores by region, transaction information by age group of buyers and sellers in the apartment area where one intends to buy or lease, and major types of traded housing.

The association plans to publish the “KAR Real Estate Market Trends” report from this month, analyzing average price and transaction volume changes of residential and commercial office facilities nationwide and in some cities and provinces, changes in buying and selling by age group, and the status of preferred buying areas. They also plan to create a separate webpage for this service within the year. Once the ongoing service for building residential and non-residential price index models is completed, after verifying the reliability of the index, KARIS real estate price index information will also be provided starting from the first half of next year.

An association official stated, “Although real estate accounts for an average of 75.5% of household assets, various transaction accidents and social problems occur due to information asymmetry,” emphasizing, “For prevention, information must be provided in a timely manner.” They added, “The data on brokerage accidents collected by the association and the listings and landlord information confirmed through the integrated index system will also greatly help prevent jeonse (long-term lease) damages.”

Lee Jong-hyuk, president of the Korea Association of Realtors, said, “By providing meaningful public interest information reprocessed from licensed realtor production data to the public, we will contribute to creating a safer and more transparent market.”