12·16 Balloon Effect... 900 Million Won Officetel Transactions Soar

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim On-yu] The volume of officetel transactions exceeding 900 million KRW in January and February this year more than doubled compared to the same period last year. Analysts suggest that as the government tightened the housing market with the December 16 real estate measures, a balloon effect increased interest in officetels.

According to the Commercial Information Research Institute on the 24th, the nationwide number of officetel transactions over 900 million KRW in January and February was 56. This is more than three times the 17 transactions recorded in the same period last year. In particular, the number of transactions in February was 35, showing a more than fourfold increase compared to 8 transactions in the same period last year, indicating a strong upward trend.

The region with the highest number of officetel transactions over 900 million KRW in January and February was Seoul, with 39 transactions. This was followed by Gyeonggi-do (9 transactions) and Busan (8 transactions).

Within Seoul, Gangnam-gu had the highest number with 11 transactions, followed by Yeongdeungpo-gu (8 transactions), Yangcheon-gu (7 transactions), Yongsan-gu and Seocho-gu (5 transactions each), and Mapo-gu (3 transactions). In Gyeonggi-do, Seongnam-si had 8 transactions and Hanam-si had 1 transaction, while all transactions in Busan were in Haeundae-gu.

The income yield of officetels also rose. Analyzing data from the Korea Real Estate Board, the Commercial Information Research Institute reported that the nationwide income yield of officetels in February this year was 5.45%, an increase of 0.01 percentage points from 5.44% in January. This marks the first increase since the officetel income yield statistics began in January 2018.

Researcher Cho Hyun-taek of the Commercial Information Research Institute said, "Last year, high-priced housing loan regulations were strengthened, leading to an increase in transactions of high-priced officetels, which are relatively free from loan restrictions. Recently, due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, interest in products such as officetels and offices, which are types of income-generating real estate, has increased compared to commercial properties."

He added, "In the past, officetels were investment products for rental income, but they are now frequently traded for actual residence purposes as well, diversifying the demand base, which appears to be another factor contributing to the increase in officetel transaction volume."

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