Multiple-Home Owners Increase Despite Crackdown

In spite of the government's efforts to crack down on real estate speculation, the number of multiple-home owners increased by 140,000 last year. This was mainly due to tax benefits for landlords with registered rental businesses to boost transparency in property transactions.

According to Statistics Korea last week, 2.12 million people owned more than two homes as of last year, up 139,000 compared to 2016 and 15.5 percent of total home owners, up from 14.9 percent. The number of people who owned more than five homes grew by 6,000 to 115,000.

Due to a sharp increase in apartment prices last year, seven out of 10 homeowners saw the value of their property rise, some 1.04 million people by more than W100 million (US$1=W1,127).

Now their tax burden will rise after the government bolstered real estate taxes for multiple-home owners and those who own expensive apartments. 

According to the National Assembly's Budget Office, per-capita real estate tax payment will increase by W230,000 for owners of one home and W1.59 million for multiple-home owners.

Home ownership figures rose somewhat due to an increase in apartment supply by 430,000 last year. As a result, 27.4 percent of the population owned at least one home, up 0.7 percentage point from 2016. By household, 55.9 percent owned a home, up 0.4 percentage point. But in Seoul the proportion stood at just 49.2 percent, making it the only region in Korea where it fell below 50 percent.