Share falls to 16.1%, lowest since January 2022; homeownership index reaches all-time high as first-time buyers step in
The share of multi-home owners in South Korea fell to its lowest level since January 2022 in May, as owners of multiple properties moved to sell ahead of a reinforced capital gains tax surcharge that took effect May 10.
According to the Supreme Court Registry Information Plaza, the multi-ownership index for collective residential buildings nationwide — covering apartments, townhouses, multi-family homes and officetels — stood at 16.137 percent in May. The index measures the proportion of collective building owners who hold two or more units. Because the figures are based on registration records, the May reading reflects transactions contracted between February and April, when the government's announcement of the tightened multi-home capital gains tax surcharge began in earnest.
Last month's reading was down from 16.211 percent in April, marking the lowest level since January 2022 (16.131 percent), when the Moon Jae-in administration was tightening regulations on multi-home ownership. The index had stood at 16.469 percent in the same month last year, edged up slightly to 16.475 percent in June, then declined for 11 consecutive months through last month. The sustained drop reflects multi-home owners moving preemptively to offload properties since the Lee Jae Myung administration took office last June, amid concerns over an expanding tax burden. The share of two-home owners fell particularly sharply, dropping to 11.155 percent last month from 11.344 percent a year earlier — a decline of 0.189 percentage points. The proportion of three-home owners also shrank, from 2.599 percent to 2.536 percent over the same period, a decrease of 0.063 percentage points.
The overall homeownership index, by contrast, hit its highest level since the statistic was first compiled in January 2010. That index tracks the share of the population that owns at least one collective building unit. It reached 28.26 percent last month, up 0.69 percentage points from 27.57 percent a year earlier.
The rise reflects demand from both existing single-home owners trading up and first-time buyers absorbing properties put on the market by multi-home owners. First-time collective building buyers in Seoul reached 7,341 in April, up 12 percent from 6,554 in January. In Gyeonggi Province, first-time buyers jumped 26.9 percent over the same period, from 10,308 to 13,076.
Soaring apartment prices have also concentrated first-home demand in villas targeted for redevelopment, another factor pushing the ownership index higher.
The multi-ownership index, which has been falling through last month, is expected to hold steady for now, while the overall ownership index is forecast to continue rising. "Multi-home owners currently have no reason to list their properties, while demand for homeownership among those without homes is growing — so the ownership index itself has room to keep climbing," said Yoon Su-min, a senior real estate specialist at NH NongHyup Bank.
hwshin@heraldcorp.com
