This Year’s Official Apartment Prices: Objections Increased Significantly, Especially for High-Value Homes

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Centered around the Gangnam area of Seoul, there has been a series of collective objections to this year's official apartment prices, with 2,757 complexes submitting a total of 37,410 appeals.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 28th that the official prices of 13.83 million apartments as of January 1 this year were finalized and announced on the 29th after owner review and opinion hearing procedures, as well as deliberation and resolution by the Central Real Estate Price Public Announcement Committee. Previously, the Ministry had received opinions on the official apartment prices from the 19th of last month until the 8th of this month.

Looking at the number of opinions submitted by year, there is an increasing trend every year. Dissatisfaction has been growing as the government has been adjusting official apartment prices to reflect reality. The number of submissions was ▲191 in 2016 ▲336 in 2017 ▲1,290 in 2018 ▲28,735 in 2019 ▲37,410 in 2020, nearly 200 times more than four years ago.

The surge in appeals appears to be due to homeowners' backlash over the increased holding tax burden caused by the sharp rise in official prices. In fact, in the Gangnam area, where high-priced homes are concentrated, about 7,000 households from 16 complexes including Eunma, Mido, Ssangyong, and Raemian Daechi Palace in Daechi, Samsung, and Gaepo-dong submitted a collective objection letter on the 7th against the announcement of official prices. The official apartment price in Gangnam-gu this year rose by an average of 25.57%, the highest in Seoul, with some complexes seeing increases of up to 40%.

Among the submitted opinions, 2,124 cases (5.7%) requested an upward adjustment, while 35,286 cases (94.3%) requested a downward adjustment.

Upward opinions were submitted 95% from homes priced under 900 million KRW. Downward opinions were submitted 7,508 times for homes under 900 million KRW and 27,778 times for homes over 900 million KRW, showing a higher submission rate for homes priced above 900 million KRW.

Upon investigation of the submitted opinions, 915 cases (130 upward, 785 downward) were reviewed as requiring adjustment. Including ex officio corrections for related households (27,532 units), official prices were adjusted for a total of 28,447 units, about 0.2% of all apartments.

The acceptance rate of opinions decreased from 21.5% last year to 2.4% this year. The total number of adjustments also dropped from 135,000 units last year to 28,000 units this year.

The official apartment prices can be viewed from the 29th until next month 29th on the 'Real Estate Official Price Informer' website and at the civil service offices of the city, county, or district where the apartment is located.

If there is an objection to the official price, an appeal form can be submitted online via the Real Estate Official Price Informer website by May 29, or by mail, fax, or direct visit to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the city/county/district office (civil service office), or the Korea Appraisal Board.

Reinvestigation will be conducted on the received appeals, and the results will be communicated to the appellants by June 26.

Kim Young-han, Director of Land Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "This year, as the realization rate of apartments priced over 900 million KRW has improved, the number of opinions submitted, especially for high-priced homes, increased compared to last year, but the number of submissions for homes under 900 million KRW actually decreased. Since there is high interest in the appropriateness, fairness, and balance of official prices, we will announce a roadmap for the realization of official prices to improve these by October."

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