It is not a secret that housing in South Korea and specifically in the Seoul region is getting more and more expensive. To try to stop this tendency, the South Korean government decides to introduce restrictions on foreign citizens who wanna a house in Seoul region. At first glance, it could be a good idea to stop speculation and allow house for families, as it should be.
The restrictions will also affect Incheon and 23 cities in Gyeonggi. The measure took effect this week and, at first, will last one year but could be extended depending on the market situation. If a foreigner wanna buy a new house in that area, first must be approved and after that, the buyer must move in within the next 4 months and live there for 2 years.
If that rules are broken, the owner will receive first a warning. If it is not the first time, it could be fined up to 10% of the transaction value of the house.
For me, this is a good measure, because if a foreigner wanna buy a house here, it should be for living. Otherwise, you are artificially increasing the price of the houses. However, this measure alone is not going to fix the problem and you take the risk of stopping the foreign talent from coming to South Korea, at a moment when this country needs more population to stop the natality crisis.
Also, you need to build more houses to cover all demand, especially in the areas that are in demand. In that way, Korea is doing great as they build a lot and very tall buildings. I hope that this plan works and helps young Koreans to afford housing.
Source: The Korea Times.
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Mostly Chinese owners.. They increase the rent in the market here. This is good news for Koreans 😆😅
I stand for this new policy. 😜🤩