"A couple born in 1999 from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix came looking to buy a 1.6 billion won apartment" ... Dongtan heats up over 1.5% company loans

\r\n
[Financial News] As Samsung Electronics labor and management reached a final agreement on the 2026 wage negotiations, securing company housing loans at an annual rate of 1.5% and up to 500 million won, the real estate market across southern Gyeonggi Province's Semiconductor Belt is heating up. Analysts say the loan benefit, combined with expectations of bonus payments worth hundreds of millions of won early next year, is bringing young employees at major companies with strong financial capacity to the fore as a new group of homebuyers.
\r\n\r\n
According to Newsis on the 28th, a story has emerged about a newlywed couple in their 20s who recently visited a real estate agency near Dongtan Station in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, saying they wanted to buy an apartment worth 1.6 billion won. The husband was a Samsung Electronics employee born in 1998, and the wife was an SK hynix employee born in 1999.
On the 27th, Samsung Electronics labor and management's tentative wage agreement was finally approved with 73.7% support in a union vote, and a home purchase loan program for employees without homes was introduced. Employees can now borrow up to 500 million won for home purchases and up to 300 million won for jeonse deposits at an annual interest rate of 1.5% for as long as 10 years.
The rate is less than half that of home mortgage loans from commercial banks, and the loans are exempt from the Debt Service Ratio (DSR) rule. As a result, analysts say homebuying power has expanded significantly. Expectations are also building for bonus payments worth hundreds of millions of won to be paid early next year.
At real estate offices, people say the recovery in the semiconductor industry and the company's welfare benefits are already being reflected in housing prices.
According to brokerage officials in Dongtan, Hwaseong and Suji District, Yongin, young high-income buyers are concentrating in these areas, where Samsung Electronics and SK hynix commuter buses run.
Their plan is to use their own savings, parental gifts, and the expanded company loan limit to sign a contract for a home first, then cover the shortfall with next year's bonus.
Real estate agents in the area told Newsis that "there are no listings at all for the flagship apartments, and asking prices for other complexes have risen by 200 million to 300 million won compared with last year," adding that "even young employees living in officetels or renting monthly are increasingly shifting to buying."
\r\n\r\n
The concentration of demand has quickly led to higher home prices and record-breaking transactions. According to KREB, apartment sale prices in Suji District, Yongin, rose 0.38% in the third week of May, while those in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, rose 0.35% and those in the Dongtan Area, Hwaseong, rose 0.49%, all outpacing Seoul's average weekly increase of 0.35%. Trading volume also surged. Apartment sales in Dongtan New Town, Hwaseong, totaled 2,283 in the first quarter, up 112% from 1,076 in the same period last year.
Actual transaction prices are also hitting new highs almost every day. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's real transaction price disclosure system, an 84-square-meter unit at the large-scale Dongtan Station Lotte Castle sold for 2.08 billion won on the 7th, setting a new record high just one month after the previous peak. A 102-square-meter unit was also sold for 2.24 billion won on the 9th, resetting the record.
Dongtan was removed from regulated areas under the October 15 Real Estate Policy, so there is no requirement for owner occupancy and gap investment is possible. With the added boost of the GTX-A line's planned opening at Samseong station in 2028, investment demand from wealthy buyers continues unabated.
sms@fnnews.com Seong Min-seo Reporter