Seoul land transaction permit applications reach 3,678 in September, rebounding for the first time in five months

[Financial News] The number of new applications for land transaction permits for apartments in Seoul rose 24.1% month over month to 3,678 in September. This was the first rebound in five months since April.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 14th, the increase in new permit applications in September may have been influenced by the partial easing of a proposal to increase the burden of the comprehensive real estate holding tax in the government’s tax reform plan announced on September 1. 
Applications for permits in September increased in all four regions: the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu; the seven districts in the Han River Belt; the 10 districts in the Gangbuk area; and the four districts in the southwest. 
The three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu posted the highest increase, up 51.5% from the previous month. The southwest and the Han River Belt followed, at 30.4% and 29.2%, respectively, with the Gangbuk area up 13.0%.
By region, the shares of applications were 44.8% for the Gangbuk area, 21.2% for the Han River Belt, 19.5% for the southwest, and 14.6% for the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu. The Gangbuk area’s share rose for four consecutive months, from 40.7% in April to 49.2% in August, but fell by 4.4 percentage points in September compared with the previous month.
In September, 198 applications were filed to defer the actual-residence requirement for homes with tenants, accounting for 5.4% of the 3,678 total permit applications. That was up 45.6% from 136 the previous month.
By region, deferral applications numbered 69 in the seven Han River Belt districts, 68 in the 10 Gangbuk-area districts, 40 in the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu, and 21 in the four southwestern districts.
From June through September, there were 812 deferral applications, or 4.9% of the 16,536 total applications over the same period. In September, the share for the Han River Belt rose from 5.6% the previous month to 8.9%, while that for the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu increased from 5.4% to 7.4%. 
Meanwhile, prices stated in applications for land transaction permits filed across Seoul from September 1 to 30 this year rose 1.43% from the previous month. By region, price growth declined or slowed in key areas such as the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu and the Han River Belt, while gains widened in outlying areas such as Gangbuk and the southwest. Prices in the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu fell 0.32% month over month; those in the seven Han River Belt districts rose 0.19%; and those in the 10 Gangbuk-area districts and the four southwestern districts increased 2.07% and 2.45%, respectively.
[email protected] Kwon Jun-ho Reporter