Market Shaken... Tenants Ask, "What If the Landlord Moves In?"

[Anchor]

The comprehensive real estate tax and capital gains tax revision plans recently announced by the government have shaken the real estate market in Gangnam. With expectations growing that landlords will choose to move into their properties themselves, tenants' housing anxieties are also mounting.

Reporter Jeon Hyeong-u has the story.

[Reporter]

A real estate agent in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, said inquiries have been pouring in following the announcement of the tax revision plan.

Most apartments in this area are ultra-high-end properties valued between 6 billion and 7 billion won, and starting in 2028, even single-home owners residing in their properties will see their comprehensive real estate taxes increase by 20 million to 30 million won.

[Park In-gu / Real estate agent in Apgujeong-dong: Consultations are coming in continuously, even until just a moment ago. Elderly retirees were already burdened by current taxes, and some were considering selling.]

In particular, they viewed the introduction of a cap on capital gains tax deductions as a major shock to the market.

[Park In-gu / Real estate agent in Apgujeong-dong: Capital gains range from as little as 4 billion won to as much as 12 billion won in some cases. If a situation arises where only 1 billion won is deducted, those individuals will have no choice but to consider selling.]

Unlike Gangnam, which is centered on ultra-high-end apartments, there are forecasts that apartments in the 2 billion won range along the Han River belt, such as Mapo and Dongjak, could see their holding tax burdens actually decrease, potentially keeping the market strong.

[Ham Young-jin / Head of Woori Bank Real Estate Research Lab: Mid-to-low-priced areas with demand for owner-occupation are expected to maintain solid price increases and transaction flows similar to this year.]

Anxiety is already being detected in the lease market.

This is because non-resident single-home landlords are expected to increasingly choose to reside in their properties themselves to avoid tax burdens.

[Kim Yeon-sook / Real estate agent in Jamwon-dong: Even this morning, a client who owns a slightly larger property and is currently living on a jeonse lease asked me, "What should I do?" So I told her, "You should move in."]

Tenants' worries are also growing.

[Jeonse tenant: Landlords are all going to try to move into their own homes. Since there are many people like us who are tenants and need to find new homes, won't it become increasingly difficult to find housing?]

There are widespread expectations that the jeonse shortage will worsen in popular areas, ultimately leading to rising jeonse and wolse (monthly rent) prices.

(Video reporting: Seol Chi-hwan, Video editing: So Ji-hye)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.