111 Apartment Exchange Deals from January to November This Year...
Down 20 from Last Year
During Market Slumps, Swaps Preferred Over Quick Sales...
"A Sign of Stabilization"
"I want to exchange my apartment in Pyeongchon, Dongan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi. It is a Mugunghwa Hyosung Hanyang apartment with an exclusive area of 84.9㎡. I am hoping to exchange it for another apartment or commercial space in Pyeongchon."
"If anyone is interested in exchanging an apartment near Jije Station in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, with an apartment in Gimpo, please contact me. The price is in the low 600 million KRW range, and I am looking for a residence due to my husband's job transfer."
These are posts uploaded on portals expressing a desire to exchange apartments. Recently, the number of people trying to swap apartments like these has been decreasing. Experts analyze this as one of the signals of normalization in the real estate market.
According to statistics from the Korea Real Estate Board on the 5th, the number of apartment exchange transactions in Seoul from January to November last year was a total of 111 cases. During the same period the previous year, 131 cases were recorded, a decrease of 20 cases. The total for the previous year was 139 cases, down by 28 cases.
The trend was similar for apartment exchanges in the Gyeonggi and Incheon areas. From January to November last year, there were 132 and 20 cases respectively, which decreased by 144 and 16 cases compared to the previous year. Monthly, the number gradually declined from 28 cases in October last year to 8 cases in November.
Yoon Soo-min, a specialist at NH Nonghyup Bank, said, "Although it is a method that carries considerable risk, there have been people who must do it, so exchanges have taken place," adding, "(The decrease in exchange transactions) can be interpreted as the apartment market recovering to a more normal state than before and finding stability."
Although not common, apartment exchange is a type of private transaction regulated under civil law. It involves swapping one’s property with another’s and settling the difference in cash. This method can reduce the burden of raising cash or loans, but it requires matching conditions such as price and listings, and becomes complicated if there are mortgages or lease contracts on the properties. Care must also be taken to avoid disputes or damages during the exchange, which is a burden.
Exchange transactions are mainly used when the market is frozen or when owners need to quickly dispose of their homes due to tax issues. Instead of selling quickly at a discount of around 100 to 200 million KRW, exchanging is used as a way to minimize financial loss.
Recently, it is gradually becoming a recognized transaction method within the system through mobile platforms. Searching for the keyword "real estate exchange" on KakaoTalk easily leads to open chat rooms such as "direct transaction marketplace" and "real estate exchange for tax savings."
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