Home Prices Surge in Dongtan as Sellers Cancel Deals, Forfeiting Double Deposits

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The semiconductor boom is driving up not only stock prices but also housing costs. Following reports of high performance bonuses, apartment prices in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, have jumped by more than 2% in just one week. Prices are rising by tens of millions of won within days, and there are even cases where sellers are canceling contracts by paying back double the deposit and pulling their properties off the market.

Reporter Baegun has the story.

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A mixed-use residential complex in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which is part of the "semiconductor belt."

In the middle of last month, an 84-square-meter unit was sold for 1.98 billion won. By early this month, the price had climbed to 2.25 billion won, setting a new record high.

Currently, the asking price for sellers has soared to as high as 2.5 billion won.

[Yoon Ki-won / Real Estate Agent in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province: After the (Samsung Electronics performance bonus) agreement was reached, prices began to skyrocket. About one-third of the purchase inquiries are from people working at Samsung or SK Hynix.]

The weekly growth rate for apartment prices in Dongtan-gu reached 1.98% last week and climbed further to 2.22% this week, marking the highest increase in the country.

[Yoo Chang-wan / Real Estate Agent in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province: There are cases where sellers pay back double the deposit—sometimes around 200 million won—to cancel contracts and withdraw their properties. Buyers are also increasingly offering larger deposits.]

The weekly growth rates in Hwaseong's Byeongjeom-gu and Yongin's Suji-gu and Giheung-gu—areas known as "shuttle-convenient" zones located along the shuttle bus routes of semiconductor companies—have also expanded.

As signs of overheating emerge, there is speculation that some areas in Gyeonggi Province, including Dongtan, could soon be designated as regulated zones.

Apartment prices in Seoul, where the average housing price surpassed 1 billion won for the first time last month, also rose by 0.27%, continuing the trend from last week.

With a decrease in available listings, a "triple strength" trend is continuing, with prices rising across sales, jeonse (long-term deposit rental), and monthly rent markets.

[Park Won-gap / Senior Real Estate Specialist at KB Kookmin Bank: To stabilize the housing market, there is a need to significantly increase the supply of non-apartment housing, such as officetels, which can be built relatively quickly.]

With the downward pressure from properties owned by multi-homeowners effectively coming to an end, the tax reform plan to be announced next month and rising interest rates are considered key variables for the market.

(Reported by Kang Dong-cheol | Video by Yoon Tae-ho | Graphics by Jang Chae-woo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.