Oh Sehoon: "Real Estate Has Stabilized Downward Over the Past Three Months"
"Soon to Announce Decision on Lifting Land Transaction Permission Zones"
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated that he is positively considering lifting the land transaction permission zone near the Gangnam-gu International Exchange Complex District.
On the afternoon of the 14th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is delivering a greeting at the "Great Debate on Easing Regulations to Revive People's Livelihoods" held in the main conference room of Seoul City Hall. Provided by Seoul City
On the 14th, Mayor Oh said at the Great Debate on Easing Regulations to Revive Livelihoods held in the Seoul City Hall auditorium, "The land transaction permission zone system, which was chosen during a special period, is being actively considered for lifting," adding, "I will organize my thoughts and announce them soon."
On the same day, Mr. Park, who has worked as a licensed real estate agent in Dogok-dong for 22 years, said, "The Gangnam-gu land transaction permission zone was designated due to concerns that land transactions could skyrocket related to the designation of the GBC (Global Business Center) zone, and it has been five years since it was designated in 2020."
Mr. Park emphasized, "Even if the transaction volume in the designated zone decreases, the system does not only have the positive function of preventing price surges. In fact, a balloon effect has occurred where prices surge in other areas outside the designated zone," adding, "The abolition of the land transaction permission system is a strong hope of the local community."
In response, Mayor Oh explained, "Since the land transaction permission zone system was introduced five years ago, many people have requested, feeling it was excessive regulation and unfair to regulate buying and selling their own property," adding, "I wanted to ease the regulations, but due to the surge in real estate prices, easing them could have poured fuel on the fire, so I could not boldly lift them."
Mayor Oh assessed that conditions have been created to consider lifting the land transaction permission zone as the real estate market stabilizes.
He explained, "Experts believe that real estate prices, which surged last year, have entered a downward stabilization trend over the past two to three months," adding, "We are also cautious about the possibility that real estate prices might continue to decline excessively."
Mayor Oh continued, "Recently, the number of real estate transactions has decreased by about 30% monthly on average, and experts evaluate that there is a possibility of a real estate price slump. Because of this, Seoul City is actively considering lifting the land transaction permission zones."
The land transaction permission system was introduced to prevent speculative transactions and maintain a stable market order. When designated as a land transaction permission zone, transactions involving housing, commercial buildings, or land above a certain standard require permission from the mayor or district office head. Currently, 65.25㎢ in Seoul, mainly in development project areas, are designated as land transaction permission zones, accounting for 10.8% of Seoul’s total area (605.24㎢).
In June 2020, Seoul designated Jamsil-dong in Songpa-gu and the Samsung, Cheongdam, and Daechi-dong areas in Gangnam-gu as land transaction permission zones, extending the designation four times, with the current application period lasting until June 22 of this year. Due to concerns about speculative demand inflow during the development of the International Exchange Complex District from COEX in Gangnam-gu to Jamsil Sports Complex in Songpa-gu, an area of 14.4㎢ was designated as a land transaction permission zone. In particular, the area near the International Exchange Complex District was designated more extensively than other development project areas, sparking controversy over fairness.
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