Moon's Mention of 'Additional Regulations'... Real Estate Market in 'Confused Turmoil'

Confusion Increasing Mainly in Real Estate Online Communities
No Surge Would Have Occurred If Policy Had Been Well Made Even Once...Criticism
Experts Warn of High Volatility During Periods of Strong Regulation...Caution Advised

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jae-won] Recently, as the government’s real estate regulatory policies have been pouring out, confusion has been intensifying mainly in large real estate online communities. Positive reactions suggesting that there may be opportunities for homeownership for people in their early to mid-30s without homes are clashing with negative opinions that excessive policies could distort the market.

According to the real estate online community 'Real Estate Study' on the morning of the 15th, nearly 70 related posts were uploaded following President Moon Jae-in’s New Year press conference the day before. This site has over 900,000 registered members.

Most opinions are critical. Despite the current government having announced 18 real estate measures, the market has not stabilized due to various balloon effects, so the core of the criticism is that continuous regulatory tightening is not the only answer. One netizen said, "If even one policy had been properly implemented instead of 18, such a sharp price surge would not have occurred," adding, "It is not appropriate to view real estate investment as speculation unconditionally."

Many demanders expressed concerns about whether it is okay to purchase a home for actual residence now, referring to President Moon’s remark that prices in areas where housing prices rose excessively early in his term should be restored to their original levels. Considering that the cumulative increase rate of Seoul apartment prices was 14.36% over three years from January 2017, purchasing a house now could inevitably lead to significant financial losses due to price restoration.

Many related posts were also uploaded on the online community 'Beautiful Homeownership,' which has nearly 800,000 members. Mr. A, a person in their 30s who recently purchased an apartment in Seoul, said, "I regret not being able to own a home during a period when apartment prices were rising sharply, so I stretched myself a bit to buy an apartment, but I have many worries." Another netizen lamented, "I was living in a jeonse (long-term lease) and started looking for an apartment in Gangbuk-gu after having a child, but I am worried because the market seems likely to fluctuate greatly."

Experts advised that it is important to make rational choices based on accurate information, especially during confusing times. They explained that extra caution is needed as rumors of 'fake real estate measures' announcements disguised as text messages from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport have spread recently, and speculative information has also been disseminated mainly through some YouTube channels.

Kim Deok-rye, head of the Housing Policy Research Office at the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, said, "Looking at past cases, market volatility always increased during periods of strong government regulation," adding, "Now is the time to ask fundamental questions about whether such phenomena are occurring." She pointed out, "If consumers invest based on partial information without sufficient knowledge, only actual transaction prices will rise, which could distort the market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.