Park Hapsu, co-chair of the Korea Real Estate Experts Club and a visiting professor at Konkuk University Graduate School of Real Estate, said, "The priority for expanding supply is to increase the volume of the existing 3rd new towns."
Professor Park noted this during the 4th Forum of the Korea Real Estate Experts Club, held on the afternoon of 19th with the theme "Real estate policy direction desired by the new government in 2025."
Chairman Park emphasized, "It is the top priority to accelerate the development speed and expand the volume of public land, including the already designated 3rd new towns," adding, "Considering that it takes 10 years from the designation of a new town to occupancy, there is no need to prioritize the 4th new towns or new public land."
He added, "If we increase the floor area ratio of the 3rd new towns, currently at about 200%, and reduce green spaces (34%) and self-sufficient land (13.8%), we can expand residential land (about 24.4%) and increase the number of dwellings by 250,000."
Regarding the prohibition of the transfer of reconstructive union member status designated in speculative overheating areas, he stated, "The reduction in sales volume leads to a serious side effect of rising prices, and it is ineffective, so it should be abolished."
Chairman Park expressed the opinion that a stimulating policy is needed rather than a restraining one for demand policies. He stated, "Currently, the home ownership ratio is 56%, and it needs to be raised to 65%," adding, "We need revolutionary loan conditions and interest rate favors for first-time home buyers."
He argued that demand policies suitable for regional circumstances must be divided between the metropolitan area and local regions. Chairman Park noted, "Population decline is an issue pertaining to local areas, and since the metropolitan area is expected to see an increase in population, selective countermeasures are necessary."
Chairman Park also called for the establishment of a "Housing Agency" to consistently manage housing demand and supply. He said, "Regardless of the administration, we need to appropriately assess demand and supply and implement consistent supply-demand policies," adding, "Since discrepancies in volume occur at occupancy, precise predictions must be made."
Chairman Park also mentioned the abolition of the heavier capital gains tax on multiple home owners and the integration of the comprehensive real estate tax and property tax. However, regarding the acquisition tax, he requested that the range under 900 million won for one-home owners be eliminated to reflect price increases, and a new tier for over 1.5 billion won be established and refined.
He also argued that for multiple home owners, a system for assessing the number of dwellings should be established by administrative district and a constant taxation structure should be created.
Chairman Park remarked, "It is correct to lower transaction taxes, such as acquisition tax and capital gains tax, in the medium to long term," but added that if the acquisition tax for multiple home owners is hastily reduced, it could lead to excessively high housing prices, resulting in difficulty for demand to secure their own homes.
Meanwhile, the Korea Real Estate Experts Club, composed of experts in the real estate field, including developers, architects, appraisers, tax accountants, lawyers, financial professionals, construction companies, certified real estate agents, and investors, was launched in February. Professor Park, Mo Hyun-sook, chairperson of the Korea Real Estate Investment Advisory Association, and Cho Yong-moon, representative of the real estate artificial intelligence (AI) service "Blue Bear," serve as co-chairpersons and conduct real estate-related lectures once a month.