Major Overhaul of Official Price Calculation System Expected... Outline to Be Announced by Year-End [2026 Official Price]

2026 Officially Assessed Prices for Multi-Unit Housing
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Launches Study
on Reforming the Official Price System

With the officially assessed prices of multi-unit residential buildings having sharply increased, particularly in Seoul, attention is now focused on how the government will determine the new calculation methodology to be applied from next year.

The officially assessed real estate prices have long faced criticism for failing to adequately reflect actual market values, while rapid increases have also led to tax resistance, resulting in low public acceptance. The government is currently conducting research to clarify the concept and operate the system more stably. However, since this issue directly affects the majority of the public engaged in economic activities, it is expected that significant controversy will be unavoidable once the reform plan is announced.

The key issue in the market is the rate at which the official price reflects actual transaction prices. According to the Act on the Public Announcement of Real Estate Values, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is required to set a target ratio for reflecting market prices. The previous administration under President Moon Jae-in introduced the “Realization Plan,” which aimed to gradually raise the reflection rate for multi-unit housing from 69.0% in 2020 (68.1% for properties under 900 million won, 69.2% for those between 900 million and 1.5 billion won, and 75.3% for those over 1.5 billion won) to 90.0% by 2030. In the following years, the government applied rates of 70.2% in 2021 and 71.5% in 2022.

The current administration led by President Yoon Suk-yeol introduced a new “Rationalization Plan,” which reverted the reflection rate to the 2020 level of 69.0%. The rationale was that, under the previous administration, both rising housing prices and a higher reflection rate caused the officially assessed price to surge, leading to an excessive tax burden. Since then, the reflection rate has remained at this same level for four consecutive years, including this year.

According to materials released by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements at a public hearing last year, the direction is to set the officially assessed price as the “policy price reflecting market value.” In this context, the reflection rate acts as an indicator for the stability of the official price system. Taking these factors into account, the government plans to announce its proposed reforms around the end of this year.

Apartment complexes are densely packed throughout the city as seen from the Namsan Seoul Tower observatory. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The government expects the new official price calculation system will reduce discrepancies in reflection rates by housing type and price range. The plan also addresses criticism that gradually raising the rate over a decade was excessively rigid. On March 17, an official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated, “We are discussing a revision to the Official Price Act in the National Assembly that would enable us to establish five-year plans and flexibly apply them based on market conditions. If the law is amended, we will reflect these aspects as well.”

Experts point out that the current official price system has its limitations and should be systematically reformed. However, they also believe that, with officially assessed prices having risen rapidly—especially in Seoul—leading to a greater tax burden, there may be backlash if these changes coincide with further policy reforms. Jo Jeong-heun, Chairperson of the Land and Housing Committee at the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, stated, “There are severe regional and type-based discrepancies, and during a market downturn, transactions decrease, making surveys more difficult. A more sophisticated calculation method—one that is acceptable to everyone—is necessary.”

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