Oh Se-hoon: "Seoul Apartment Prices Have Risen for 86 Consecutive Weeks... Ordinary Citizens Are Bearing the Brunt"

[Financial News] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has criticized the government’s real estate policies, citing the continued rise in apartment prices in Seoul.
On the 13th, Oh criticized the trend on social media, saying, "Apartment prices in Seoul have risen for 86 consecutive weeks, surpassing even the previous record of 85 weeks set during the Moon Jae-in administration."
Oh pointed out, "Comparing the cumulative increase in Seoul’s monthly apartment transaction prices during the first year after each administration took office, the figure under the Lee Jae-myung administration stands at 14.75%, far exceeding the 11.68% under the Roh Moo-hyun administration and 9.41% under the Moon Jae-in administration." He added, "The period of increases is the longest on record, and the pace of home-price growth in the early days of the administration has also surpassed that of previous governments."
He criticized not only the consecutive rise in apartment prices but also the increases concentrated in Seoul’s outer districts. Oh said, "From June through August, apartment transaction prices in Seoul rose by an average of 3.5%. Dongdaemun District rose 5.8%, Geumcheon District 5.4%, and Dobong, Gangseo, and Gangdong districts 4.7%." He emphasized, "While the upward trend in Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa districts has recently slowed somewhat, the pattern is clearly different elsewhere. A so-called price catch-up phenomenon is becoming increasingly evident, centered on non-Gangnam areas and Seoul’s outer districts."
He also criticized the impact of the sharp rise in jeonse prices on the jeonse market.
Oh said, "What is even more serious is the jeonse market. Not only apartment sale prices but also jeonse deposits are rising far above the Seoul average, particularly in areas favored by ordinary people and younger generations. As indiscriminate lending restrictions suppressed demand, that demand was pushed into lower-priced areas on the outskirts, driving up both sale prices and jeonse deposits there."
He continued, "The government’s real estate policies, which have consistently relied on an excessive fixation on owner-occupancy and the belief that taxes can solve everything, have not contained home prices. Instead, they have simply raised the price floor across Seoul by another level." He added, "Ordinary citizens are bearing the full brunt of the damage."
Oh explained, "Newlywed couples and young people who had tried to buy their first homes in Seoul’s outer districts, where prices were relatively affordable and loans were available, are once again facing frustration in front of a broken housing ladder." He added, "Now that jeonse deposits have also soared, even getting by in Seoul through jeonse has become difficult."
Finally, Oh called for a complete overhaul of the government’s real estate policies. He demanded, "You cannot claim to have stabilized home prices while pushing people out of their homes." He continued, "Completely reconsider the direction of real estate policy based on the three pillars of supply, lending, and taxation."

[email protected] Jung Kyung-soo Reporter