Mayor Oh Sehoon: "There Is Room for Interpretation on Housing Price Surge... Closely Monitoring"

"Increase in Successful Transactions
Closely Monitoring Changes in Volume and Prices
Discussing Extraordinary Measures with the Government"

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon addressed concerns on February 12 about a sharp rise in housing prices following the city's lifting of the land transaction permit zone (LTPZ) designation, stating, "There is room for interpretation as to whether prices have increased abnormally." He emphasized, "We are closely monitoring the situation to determine whether any extraordinary measures are necessary."

Mayor Oh made these remarks on March 17 during a visit to the small-scale redevelopment site at 108-1 Oryudong, Guro-gu (Hwarang Housing), where the 33rd deregulation measure is being applied.

Mayor Oh Sehun is visiting the site of '108-1 Oryudong, Gurogu,' the 33rd target area for deregulation, and inspecting the scene. Photo by Seoul City

When asked what criteria would be used to determine if housing prices had risen excessively, Mayor Oh responded, "There is no specific standard for whether the increase in housing prices is abnormal or normal," adding, "It seems we must make judgments based on common sense." Previously, on March 14, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced at a real estate market task force (TF) meeting that it would immediately seek to re-designate the LTPZ if housing prices rose excessively in an abnormal manner.

Regarding whether additional measures are currently needed in the market, he explained that discussions are ongoing with the central government, saying, "We are monitoring changes in transaction volume and the degree of price increases." Mayor Oh added, "We are communicating closely with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. There is also a vice-ministerial meeting scheduled for the afternoon of March 17, where we will carefully consider through the council whether extraordinary measures are necessary."

Meanwhile, the Hwarang Housing redevelopment project in Guro-gu, which Mayor Oh visited on this day, is expected to see significantly improved business feasibility as a result of the city's 33rd deregulation measure. The 33rd deregulation measure includes provisions to increase the floor area ratio for small-scale buildings within Type 2 and Type 3 general residential areas. This project site, located in a Type 2 general residential area, has been burdened by a low proportional ratio and high estimated contributions for residents.

Mayor Oh stated, "If we significantly increase the floor area ratio, the cost burden (contributions) for redevelopment can be reduced to about half or even a third," adding, "If small-scale redevelopment and reconstruction are revitalized, it will also benefit the construction industry."