"Should I buy a home or not?" Clock ticking for first-time buyers with two months left

[Financial News] With the end of the temporary suspension of heavier capital gains tax on multiple-home owners scheduled for May 9, people without homes are facing a growing dilemma. As more properties, including price-adjusted urgent sales, are coming onto the market, some analysts say this could be a prime window for first-time buyers to purchase a home.
■ Experts: "A good opportunity for first-time buyers"According to industry sources on the 16th, under the "Plan to End the Temporary Suspension of Heavy Capital Gains Tax on Multiple-Home Owners and Supplementary Measures" announced by the government on the 12th, first-time buyers who purchase a tenant-occupied home before May 9 can have their move-in obligation deferred for up to two years. To qualify for the tax relief, a sales contract must be signed and receipt of the down payment must be verifiable with documentation by May 9. Experts note that because buyers must sign a land transaction agreement by the second week of April, more discounted urgent sales are likely to appear from after the Lunar New Year holidays through early April. However, they add that the degree of price adjustment will differ by price segment.
Chunran Lee, head of Real Rich Asset, said, "This is a good opportunity for buyers who are preparing to purchase," adding, "Properties priced between 1.5 billion and 2.5 billion won appear to be available at lower prices than in 2025." She continued, "For newly built homes priced at 1.5 billion won or less, mortgage loans are available up to 600 million won and the jeonse deposit ratio is high, so I do not expect to see many urgent sales in that segment," and warned, "If buyers simply wait, assuming there will be plenty of fire sales, they may find it harder to buy later."
In particular, the fact that buyers can now take over existing lease contracts for up to two years is expected to ease the freeze in the sales market caused by the land transaction permit system. Ham Young-jin, head of the Woori Bank Real Estate Research Lab, noted, "With the deferral of obligations such as repaying the tenant's jeonse loan and moving in for self-occupancy, the hurdles for first-time buyers to purchase homes within land transaction permit zones have been lowered, which is positive," and added, "We expect to see more demand for homes priced roughly between 600 million and 1 billion won."
Yang Ji-young, a senior advisor at Shinhan Premier Pathfinder, also commented, "From the perspective of first-time buyers, being able to maintain their mortgage without moving in until the lease expires secures greater flexibility in managing their finances, which could act as a catalyst for purchases."
■ Will it become a seller's market again from May?There are also projections that once the temporary suspension of heavier capital gains tax ends, the market could shift back in favor of sellers. Chunran Lee predicted, "After the April sales market passes, temporary two-home owners and single-home owners will be able to sell at favorable prices, while prospective buyers in Seoul and the greater metropolitan area may find it harder to purchase as prices rise."
Yang Ji-young forecast, "If a supply squeeze emerges after the suspension ends and this coincides with a sharp drop in new move-in volumes this year, we could see another period of supply-demand imbalance in the second half."
The government's latest supplementary measures are widely seen as clearly aimed at opening a path to homeownership for people without homes. Kim Hyosun, chief real estate specialist at the KB Kookmin Bank WM Division, explained, "Limiting the benefits of deferred move-in obligations and deferred address-registration requirements for mortgages to first-time buyers only shows a clear policy intention to have end-users absorb the properties being sold by multiple-home owners."
Meanwhile, data from the real estate information platform Asil show that as of the previous day, there were 63,745 listings in Seoul, up 12.9% from 56,421 a month earlier. Observers say this surge in tax-saving listings reflects President Lee Jae-myung and the government's strong push to encourage multiple-home owners to sell.

ming@fnnews.com Jeon Min-kyung Reporter