Company Loans of Up to 500 Million Won Start Today... Dongtan and Yongin Housing Markets Stirred

[Anchor]

Starting today (September 1), Samsung Electronics is launching an in-house corporate loan program that provides up to 500 million won at low interest rates to employees without homes. This move is expected to further impact housing prices in the semiconductor belt, including Gyeonggi Province's Yongin and Dongtan areas, which have already seen sharp increases.

Reporter Baegun has the details.

[Reporter]

A mixed-use residential complex in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province.

In late June, a unit with a dedicated area of 54 square meters was traded for 580 million won, but the price jumped to 650 million won on July 17.

The apartment sales price growth rate in Dongtan, one of the semiconductor belt regions, widened to 0.54% in the fourth week of August, more than four times the expansion seen in the previous week.

[Yoon Ki-won / Real Estate Agent in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong-si: In June, the transaction volume reached around 2,000 cases. However, after it became a regulated zone, July dropped to about 150 cases. Starting in August, transaction volumes and inquiries are on the rise again.]

The apartment sales price growth rate in Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, where a Samsung Electronics business site is located, also nearly doubled from the previous week to 0.63%.

[Hong Soon-bum / Real Estate Agent in Giheung-gu, Yongin-si: Because proximity to work is possible and supply is lacking while demand is high, we don't think prices will drop easily.]

Research findings from the Bank of Korea showed that following the payment of performance bonuses this year, residents of Icheon, where SK Hynix is located, significantly increased their purchases of real estate in areas like Dongtan and Yongin.

Adding to this is Samsung Electronics' housing fund loan program for homeless employees, which begins today (September 1).

Loans of up to 500 million won for home purchases and up to 300 million won for leases are available at a low interest rate of 1.5% per annum, and loans can even be received for trading up to a new home while disposing of an existing one.

Debt Service Ratio (DSR) regulations do not apply either.

[Park Won-gab / Senior Real Estate Specialist at KB Kookmin Bank: There is an effect of increasing housing purchasing power, so demand for housing in the semiconductor belt is likely to increase. However, the market is not participated in solely by Samsung Electronics employees. If the base interest rate rises further, there is a possibility that brakes could be applied to housing price increases.]

The Bank of Korea suggested that policies capable of channeling increased income into various forms of consumption and the real economy are necessary.

(Video filming: Kim Hak-mo, Video editing: Kim Ho-jin, Design: Lim Chan-hyuk)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.