Seoul Housing Prices Swing by Tax Policy: Gangnam Dips While Seongbuk Rises

[Anchor]

It is Friday, and we have reporter Han Jiyeon here with our "Friendly Economy" segment. Han, looking at the Seoul real estate market lately, it seems the mechanism driving expensive neighborhoods is completely different from less expensive ones.

[Reporter]

According to the Korea Real Estate Board, apartment prices in Gangnam and Seocho have been dropping for several weeks now.

Meanwhile, outer areas of Seoul continue to see sharp increases.

Among Seoul's 25 districts, Seongbuk-gu recorded the highest increase this week.

It rose by 0.54% over the course of a week.

An 84-square-meter apartment in Seongbuk-gu, which was in the 1.2 billion won range at the beginning of this year, jumped to the 1.5 billion won range in 8 months.

That is an increase of more than 300 million won.

Jungnang-gu is no different.

It also set a new record high in the 1.5 billion won range for an 84-square-meter unit.

This was an area where units traded in the 1.2 billion won range earlier this year.

Nowon-gu, Gangbuk-gu, Gangseo-gu, Gwanak-gu, and even Guro-gu all saw weekly increases higher than the Seoul average.

Looking at cumulative figures since the beginning of the year, Seongbuk-gu has already surged by over 13%, while Guro-gu and Gangseo-gu have also surpassed 10%.

Conversely, Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu have fallen for 4 consecutive weeks.

This week, Gangnam-gu dropped by 0.41% and Seocho-gu by 0.23%.

Jeonse (lump-sum housing deposit lease) prices show a similar trend.

Jeonse prices in Seongbuk-gu and Gangbuk-gu climbed 0.38%, outpacing the Seoul average of 0.21%.

[Anchor]

Let me correct the weekly increase rate for Seongbuk-gu mentioned earlier; it is 0.54%, not 54%. But is this happening because taxes fluctuate a lot in expensive neighborhoods?

[Reporter]

In Gangnam, some homeowners put quick-sale properties on the market and then withdrew them, showing a hesitant housing market.

When the government first announced its tax reform plan on August 3, it included measures to significantly increase the comprehensive real estate holding tax burden for homeowners who own a single home but do not reside in it.

As a result, high-priced housing areas like Gangnam began seeing an increase in listings driven by tax burden concerns.

In fact, a homeowner in Daechi-dong put a 3.4 billion won apartment on the market as a quick sale in the 3.1 billion won range.

However, as opposing voices grew louder over the excessive tax burden on single-home non-resident owners, and the ruling party also demanded a review, the atmosphere shifted.

Once news broke that the government would re-examine the plan, there was even a case where a homeowner withdrew the quick sale listing priced at 3.1 billion won.

Then on September 1, the government ultimately dropped plans to lower the basic comprehensive real estate holding tax deduction for single-home non-residents from 1.2 billion won to 900 million won and to raise the cap on tax burdens.

While taxes did not actually change, parts of the government proposal were reversed within a month.

Market analysts suggest that this uncertainty will likely persist for a while.

In fact, while quick-sale pressure has eased somewhat, the number of prospective buyers has not increased, putting Gangnam in a state where "neither sellers nor buyers are willing to make a move."

[Anchor]

What is the final topic?

[Reporter]

Looking at the clinic-level medical fees disclosed by the government yesterday (September 3), prices for extracorporeal shock wave therapy showed a difference of up to 2.5 times between median and maximum amounts.

The government released non-covered medical expenses for hospitals nationwide all at once.

Non-covered services refer to treatments where patients must pay the full medical cost out of pocket because health insurance does not apply.

While the government sets prices for health insurance-covered treatments, medical institutions set their own prices for non-covered services, which can lead to price discrepancies among hospitals.

Looking at disclosed prices for clinics, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, commonly used for muscle and joint pain, had a median price of 70,000 won and a maximum price of 175,000 won, a 2.5-fold difference.

Prolotherapy, which helps ligaments and tendons recover from injury, showed an even larger gap of more than 4 times, with a median price of 50,000 won and a maximum price of 201,000 won.

Zirconia implants, which place tooth-colored crowns over implants, had a median price of 1.1 million won and a maximum price of 1.72 million won.

This year features 753 disclosed items, an increase of 60 items from last year.

Overall, among the 593 items comparable to last year, 73.5% saw average price increases, 24.6% decreased, and 1.9% remained unchanged.

Price gaps between hospitals widened further from last year in over 56.8% of the items.

However, actual medical expenses may vary depending on the scope and frequency of treatment.

If you want to know more in detail, you can check non-covered medical expenses by hospital on the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service website and through an app called "Geongang-e-eum."

If you are facing a costly treatment, it is a good idea to search in advance and compare prices across a few hospitals.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.