Share of two-home owners falls to lowest level in 3 years and 8 months amid tighter regulation

The share of South Koreans owning two collective buildings, such as apartments, officetels or villas, has fallen to its lowest level in three years and eight months. The decline appears to reflect the government’s tougher regulations on multiple-home and non-resident property owners.

Data from the Supreme Court’s Registry Information Plaza showed that the two-home ownership index stood at 11.083 nationwide last month. That was the lowest reading since December 2022, when it reached 11.081.

The index measures the share of multiple-home owners among all collective-building owners. A reading of 10 means that 10 out of every 100 owners hold more than one property. The measure covers owners of between two and 101 or more homes.

“

The effect of urgent sales by multiple-home owners when the capital-gains tax surcharge exemption ended was substantial.

The index for owners of two homes rose after 2023 and reached 11.357 in June last year. It then began falling every month after the government started discussing the end of a temporary exemption from the higher capital-gains tax for multiple-home owners in January. The index dropped to 11.108 in July and fell below 11.1 last month for the first time in 44 months.

The government banned, in principle, extensions of apartment mortgage maturities for multiple-home owners in the Seoul metropolitan area and other regulated zones in April. In May, the temporary exemption from the higher capital-gains tax ended. Ko Jun-seok, a professor at Yonsei University’s Sangnam Institute of Management, said urgent sales by multiple-home owners had played a major role. He added that more properties could come onto the market for a while if owners seek to avoid additional tax burdens after tax reforms are finalized.

“

Once the tax reform plan is finalized, more properties could come onto the market for a while as multiple-home owners seek to avoid the tax burden.