Gifts and inheritances recorded in housing fund-raising plans, January–August

Gyeonggi Province reaches 2.3 trillion won — up 40% from all of last year

Apartment complexes near Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. [Yonhap]
Apartment complexes near Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. [Yonhap]

A man in his 20s, identified only by his surname initial A, bought an apartment in Dongtan, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province in the first half of this year for 900 million won ($662,000). He took over an existing jeonse deposit of 400 million won, covered 200 million won of the remaining balance with his own savings, and received the other 300 million won as a gift from his parents.

Apartment prices in Gyeonggi Province have risen more than 5 percent this year, and gifts and inheritances used to finance home purchases in the province exceeded 2 trillion won in the first eight months of the year. Analysts say the trend reflects both tighter financing conditions — stemming from the designation of land transaction permit zones and regulated areas across key Gyeonggi districts and reduced loan limits — and a concentration of buying by people in their 20s and 30s in sought-after areas such as Gwangmyeong, Guri, Dongtan and Giheung that have led the province's price rally.

Data submitted to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jong-yang of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport show that gifts and inheritances recorded in housing fund-raising plans nationwide totaled 7.35 trillion won in the first eight months of this year — already surpassing the full-year figure of 6.58 trillion won for last year.

Seoul accounted for the largest share of the national total, at 4.58 trillion won for the January–August period, up about 3 percent, or 132.5 billion won, from the full-year figure of 4.45 trillion won for last year.

Gyeonggi Province ranked second and posted the sharpest increase of any province or metropolitan city in the country. Gift and inheritance funds used for home purchases in the province reached 2.33 trillion won in the first eight months of this year, a jump of about 40 percent from the full-year figure of 1.67 trillion won for last year.

The sharp rise in gift and inheritance funds in Gyeonggi Province this year is attributed to growing demand for homes there as Seoul prices climbed and the jeonse and monthly rent market tightened. As demand concentrated in areas with good access to Seoul and prices continued to rise, the capital needed to buy a home grew as well. An October 2025 policy package that placed 12 Gyeonggi districts under land transaction permit zones subject to owner-occupancy requirements also played a role, as did the additional designation of Dongtan, Guri and Giheung in July — moves that effectively banned gap investment, or buying with an existing jeonse in place, pushing buyers to rely more heavily on gifts and inheritances.

The upward price trend in Gyeonggi Province apartments is visible in market data. According to KB real estate statistics, the average apartment price in Gyeonggi Province last month was 622.14 million won, up 10.4 percent from 563.46 million won in August last year. The average price per square meter of exclusive use area stood at 7.74 million won, putting the cost of an 84-square-meter unit — the so-called standard national floor plan — at 650.54 million won, more than 60 million won above the 584.82 million won recorded in the same month last year.

Price gains in key Gyeonggi districts bordering Seoul or offering strong residential amenities have far outpaced the provincial average. Gyeonggi Province apartment prices rose 0.23 percent this week, according to Korea Real Estate Board data, with Suwon's Yeongtong-gu leading at 1.09 percent, followed by Suwon's Gwonseon-gu at 0.66 percent, Yongin's Giheung-gu at 0.48 percent, Hwaseong's Dongtan at 0.45 percent, Gwangmyeong at 0.40 percent, Anyang's Dongan-gu, Hanam and Gunpo each at 0.38 percent, and Suwon's Paldal-gu at 0.36 percent. Driven by these areas, the cumulative increase in Gyeonggi Province apartment prices this year has reached 5.16 percent.

Nam Hyeok-woo, a real estate researcher at Woori Bank, said prices in southern Gyeonggi Province, including Suwon's Yeongtong-gu, "continue to rise as liquidity flows in through Samsung Electronics' in-house loan program." He added that the liquidity effect from southern Gyeonggi "could reinforce price stickiness on the downside in the greater Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul itself, where market prices are forming at or below 2.5 billion won" — the ceiling for Samsung Electronics' in-house loan eligibility.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com