A Market Free of False Listings... Will It Be a 'Cure' or a 'Poison' for Housing Price Stability?

Songpa-gu Listings Decrease by 54.7%... Helio City Drops by Over 1,400 Units
Market Illusion from False Listings Disappears
Positive Response as 'False Trips' Are Avoided
Though Intent Is Right, Concerns Arise Over Possible Price Increase Due to Listing Drop

View of downtown apartment complexes from Namsan, Seoul Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] Following the enforcement of the revised Licensed Real Estate Agent Act, which strengthens penalties for false and exaggerated listings, the number of apartment listings in Seoul on major internet sites has sharply declined.

In Songpa-gu Garak-dong Helio City, over 1,400 listings disappeared over the weekend, and in Gangnam-gu Dogok-dong Dogok Rexle, listings also decreased by more than 400. While the market has responded positively, noting that the illusion caused by false listings has disappeared, concerns have also been raised that the disappearance of listings may instead fuel apartment price increases.

According to real estate big data company Asil on the 24th, the total number of apartment sales and lease listings in Seoul was 74,126. This is a 31.8% decrease compared to 108,578 listings on the 17th, a week earlier.

The most prominent decrease in listings was in Songpa-gu, where the number dropped from 8,842 to 4,011, a 54.7% decrease within a week. Following that, Yangcheon-gu decreased from 4,442 to 2,249, and Seocho-gu from 13,432 to 7,637. Listings in Dongjak, Gangnam, Gangdong, and Gwangjin-gu also decreased by more than 30%.

In Songpa-gu Garak-dong Helio City, listings shrank from 1,586 to 145, meaning 90% of listings disappeared within a week. Seocho-gu Seocho-dong Prugio Summit listings dropped from 340 to 43 (-87.4%), and Gangnam-gu Dogok-dong Dogok Rexle from 529 to 74 (-86.1%). Nearby Raemian Dogok County also decreased by 82%, from 177 to 32. Songpa-gu Jamsil-dong Jugong 5 Complex listings fell from 899 to 172, an 80.9% decrease. Additionally, more than 10 complexes saw listing decreases exceeding 70%.

The industry attributes this disappearance of listings to the deletion of false listings following the revision of the Licensed Real Estate Agent Act. According to the revised act, which took effect on the 21st, not only posting non-existent false listings but also advertising listings that exist but cannot be brokered or listings for which there is no intention to broker are subject to fines. Licensed real estate agents who violate this can be fined up to 5 million KRW.

The market's response to the reduction in false listings is positive, as it is expected to reduce wasted trips caused by bait listings. Mr. A (Songpa-gu Garak-dong) said, "When I went to see a cheap listing, they would say 'that listing is already gone' and show me expensive listings instead, so I wasted several trips," adding, "Strengthened enforcement is needed going forward."

However, concerns have been raised that the sharp decrease in listings could trigger a rise in housing prices. Mr. B (Seongdong-gu Hawangsimni) said, "With false listings gone, the number of listings decreases, so homeowners may be more inclined to raise prices when putting their homes on the market."

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