홍남기 "지분적립형 주택, 20∼25% 지분으로 입주…2023년 분양"
New measures to cool down South Korea's overheated real estate market and help first-time buyers get their first homes.
Seoul's finance ministry unveiled the measures today - apartments built by the government will have smaller down payments and a property tax hike for expensive homes to bring prices down.
Kim Jae-hee reports.
The government has laid out its latest plan to help young people, particularly newly-married couples, get onto the property ladder.
Under the government's new plan, first-time buyers will be able to buy new government-built properties with a smaller initial deposit.
This is according to South Korea's Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki Wednesday as he spoke at a ministerial meeting related to the real estate market.
Under the government's new plan, buyers can pay an initial deposit of just 20 to 25 percent of the property's value and pay off the rest over time.
The buyers can divide repayments into 10 to 15 percent chunks every four years, so they will eventually own the property outright within 20 to 30 years.
Until they fully own the property, they will have to pay rent, but this will be set below the market rate.
The government plans to gradually apply this new measure to new housing sites from 2023.
"We believe the new plan will mitigate the initial burden on ordinary people who dream of buying a house, but lack the financial means to do so."
The minister also said the government is looking to change the way it assesses the value of real estate for taxation, so it better reflects the market price.
It currently assesses homes at 69 percent of their market value, but under the plan, by 2030, the government will assess them at between 80 and 100 percent of their value.
However, the government intends to introduce new policies to prevent this change in property tax valuations from adversely affecting people who own a single low or mid-priced home.
The minister said that the government will announce these measures in the coming days, after consulting with the ruling Democratic party.
Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.
