'Semiconductor Money' Fuels Surge in Dongtan Housing Prices... Skyrockets by 2.22%

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Apartment prices in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, have jumped by more than 2% in just one week. As the area is located near Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix worksites, demand is flooding in, with some sellers even paying double the deposit to cancel contracts and withdraw their properties from the market.

Reporter Baek Woon has the story.

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A residential-commercial complex in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which is part of the "semiconductor belt."

In the middle of last month, an 84-square-meter unit traded for 1.98 billion won, but it hit a new record high earlier this month, rising to 2.225 billion won.

The current asking price has soared to as high as 2.5 billion won.

[Yoon Ki-won/Real Estate Agent in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province: "After the agreement (on Samsung Electronics' performance bonuses) was reached, prices started to skyrocket. About one-third of the purchase inquiries are from people working at Samsung or Hynix..."]

The weekly growth rate of apartment prices in Dongtan-gu reached 1.98% last week and climbed to 2.22% this week, marking the highest increase in the country.

[Yoo Chang-wan/Real Estate Agent in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province: "There are cases where sellers pay double the deposit—nearly 200 million won—to cancel contracts and take their properties off the market. (Buyers) are also putting down larger deposits in some cases."]

Weekly price increases have also accelerated in Byeongjeom-gu, Hwaseong, as well as Suji-gu and Giheung-gu in Yongin—areas known as "shuttle-convenient" zones that follow the shuttle bus routes of semiconductor companies.

As signs of overheating emerge, there is speculation that some areas in Gyeonggi Province, including Dongtan, could soon be designated as regulated zones.

Apartment prices in Seoul, where the average housing price surpassed 1 billion won for the first time last month, also rose by 0.27%, continuing the trend from last week.

With a dwindling supply of properties for sale, a "triple rise" is continuing, with prices for jeonse (long-term deposit rental) and monthly rent all increasing.

[Park Won-gap/Senior Real Estate Specialist at KB Kookmin Bank: "To stabilize the housing market, there is a need to significantly increase the supply of non-apartment housing, such as officetels, which can be built relatively quickly."]

With the downward effect caused by properties from multi-home owners effectively coming to an end, the tax reform plan to be announced next month and rising interest rates are considered the key variables for the market.

(Reported by Kang Dong-chul | Video by Yoon Tae-ho | Graphics by Jang Chae-woo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.