▲ Apartment complexes around Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province
Attention is focusing on whether apartment prices in Dongtan, Hwaseong, which have risen by more than 16% this year, will climb even further following the implementation of Samsung Electronics' low-interest housing loans for employees starting next month.
According to the Korea Real Estate Board on August 26, apartment sales prices in Dongtan-gu rose by 16.3% from the beginning of the year through August 17.
Jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) prices also increased by 10.9% over the same period.
Dongtan has seen a prominent upward trend in prices this year due to strong demand for housing close to workplaces, driven by Samsung Electronics' Hwaseong and Giheung business sites and a concentration of related semiconductor companies, alongside improving transportation conditions such as the opening of the Great Train Express (GTX)-A.
Recently, record-high transactions have also followed one after another.
According to an analysis of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport actual transaction price data by Ham Young-jin, head of Woori Bank's Real Estate Research Lab, out of 494 apartment size types traded in Dongtan-gu from June to August 25, 319 types (64.6%) recorded their highest prices ever during that period.
This is the highest proportion in Gyeonggi Province over the same period.
Amidst this, possibilities of further increases in Dongtan's home prices are being raised as Samsung Electronics plans to implement housing loans of up to 500 million won at an annual interest rate of 1.5% for homeless employees starting September 1.
Dongtan has many small-to-medium-sized apartments with exclusive areas of 85 square meters or less and priced at 25 billion won or less, which fall under the loan targets.
Ahead of the actual loan implementation, local real estate agencies report that inquiries regarding home purchases from Samsung Electronics employees are increasing in southern Gyeonggi regions such as Dongtan.
However, some analyses suggest that the possibility of this leading to a general surge in Dongtan apartment prices is limited, as the loan targets are restricted to homeless employees with limits on exclusive area and housing prices.
Complexes with good commuting convenience to Samsung Electronics workplaces, known as "shusegwon" (shuttle-accessible areas), are likely to attract concentrated interest from actual homebuyers.
Lab Head Ham said, "For the time being, the Dongtan apartment market is likely to sustain a differentiated market trend where record-high prices continue mainly centered around preferred complexes with superior workplace proximity and product quality, rather than a 'widespread surge,'" adding, "It is necessary to closely monitor transaction volume and price trends, particularly focusing on small-to-medium-sized and station-area apartments after September."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.