Dongtan and Suji Price Surge Spreads to Giheung... National Standard Apartment Breaks 1.5 Billion Won Amid Lack of Regulations [Real Estate AtoZ]

Record-High Prices in Giheung District Without Owner-Occupancy Mandate
Gap Investors Target Giheung Amid Neighboring Regulation
Semiconductor Performance Bonuses Drive Demand Surge, Transactions Soar

The surge in housing prices, which began in Dongtan District, Hwaseong City and Suji District, Yongin City, is now spreading to Giheung District in Yongin City. Because Giheung was excluded from the government’s October 15 policies designating land transaction permit zones last year, there is no two-year mandatory owner-occupancy requirement after purchase, making gap investments (buying homes with tenants under jeonse contracts) possible. With robust demand from semiconductor firms such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, along with the positive effect of performance bonuses, record-high transactions are occurring, particularly among leading apartment complexes in the area.

First Ever National Standard Apartment Sells for Over 1.5 Billion Won... Record Prices for Both Old and Recently Built Complexes

Aerial view of 'e-Pyeonhansesang Guseong Station Platform City' in Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province. Naver Real Estate

According to the actual transaction price disclosure system of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as of June 13, an 85-square-meter unit at "E-Pyeonhansesang Guseong Station Platform City" in Mabuk-dong, regarded as Giheung District’s flagship apartment, was sold for 1.54 billion won (27th floor) on May 23. This is the highest price ever recorded for the national standard apartment type (around 84 square meters) in Giheung District. The same-sized unit previously sold for 1.26 billion won (20th floor) in July last year, marking a 280 million won increase in just 10 months. This is also the first time that a national standard apartment in Giheung District has surpassed 1.5 billion won. Another unit in the same complex, measuring 59 square meters, set a new record at 1.215 billion won (13th floor) on May 1.

The Jukhyeonmaeul area in Bojeong-dong, a beneficiary of the Suin-Bundang Line Guseong Station and the Platform City project, is also experiencing strong price growth. An 84.6-square-meter unit at "Jukhyeonmaeul Dongwon Royal Duke" was contracted at 1.29 billion won (18th floor) in April, setting a record high. Compared to a transaction for a unit on the same floor at 1.095 billion won in September last year, the price has increased by nearly 200 million won in just seven months. In the same complex, a 125.5-square-meter unit was sold for a record 1.45 billion won (10th floor) in January, and a 152.34-square-meter unit fetched 1.485 billion won (6th floor) in May. Nearby, an 84.76-square-meter unit at "Jukhyeonmaeul I-Park" was sold for a record 1.125 billion won (8th floor) in April. Even older complexes, roughly 20 years old, are seeing prices catch up.

Newer complexes around Giheung Station are also joining the record-breaking trend. An 84.95-square-meter unit at "Hillstate Giheung" in Gugal-dong changed hands at 1.2 billion won (21st floor) on June 4, setting a new high. This is an increase of 60 million won in just one month compared to actual transaction prices of 1.14 billion won in April and May. In the same complex, a 72.73-square-meter unit also set a new record at 1.09 billion won (30th floor) in February. This unit size, which previously hovered in the 800 million won range, surpassed 900 million won after the October 15 measures last year and has been rising rapidly since. A 95.99-square-meter unit was traded at a record 1.25 billion won (37th floor) in April, up 170 million won from the 1.08 billion won (38th floor) recorded in June last year.

Other nearby complexes are also seeing price increases. A 72.5-square-meter unit at "Giheung Station The Sharp" reached a record 930 million won (14th floor) on May 27. This represents a 150 million won increase from the 780 million won (10th floor) transaction recorded in May last year. At "Giheung Station Central Prugio," an 84.74-square-meter unit was sold for a record 1.015 billion won (39th floor) on June 5, and just three days later, another unit (28th floor) fetched 1.008 billion won. Given that similar transactions were in the 800 million won range last May, it is clear that deals in the 1 billion won range have become the new standard within just a year.

With buying demand concentrated in Giheung District, actual transaction volumes have also surged. Excluding canceled contracts, the number of apartment sales in Giheung District from January 1 to June 12 of this year reached 3,977, a 91% increase compared to 2,086 during the same period last year. The growth trend is even more pronounced when comparing only January to May, as June transactions are still being reported. From January to May this year, there were 3,810 transactions—more than double the 1,874 recorded during the same period last year.

Gap Investments Flow In Amid Lack of Regulations... Giheung Emerges as Alternative to Dongtan and Suji

According to the weekly apartment sales price index from Korea Real Estate Board, Giheung District’s prices have risen 5.66% from the beginning of the year to the second week of June. In the same period, Suji District in Yongin rose 8.56%, and Dongtan climbed 7.19%. Although Giheung’s growth rate is lower than Dongtan and Suji, the market sees a "spillover" effect, with price pressure in the other two districts shifting demand to neighboring Giheung.

As national standard apartments in Dongtan have surpassed 2 billion won, Giheung District—where prices remain relatively lower—is emerging as an alternative destination. Giheung is home to Samsung Electronics’ Giheung Campus and is located between the Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek Samsung Electronics campuses and the SK hynix-backed Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. Despite being within the demand sphere of high-income workers at semiconductor firms, apartment prices in Giheung are still 9.2% lower than the previous peak in January 2022. This feeds expectations for further price increases.

Demand from Suji, which is a regulated area, is also pushing up prices in Giheung. Suji District, adjacent to Giheung, was designated a land transaction permit zone under the October 15 measures, yet still posted a cumulative price increase of 8.56% this year. In permit zones, buyers must occupy the property for two years after purchase, effectively blocking jeonse-based purchases, but Giheung, as a non-regulated area, is free from such restrictions. This creates strong potential for gap investment demand, as buyers can either purchase occupied units or lease out the property after purchase, reducing the initial capital burden.

Ham Youngjin, head of Woori Bank’s Real Estate Research Lab, said, "Giheung is adjacent to Suji, and with positive factors such as the planned GTX-A Guseong Station and Platform City development, it is attracting buyers, particularly because price growth has lagged behind Suji. Similar to Dongtan, high-income employees at nearby semiconductor firms like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are also entering the market, fueled by performance bonuses, leading to some inflow of gap investment demand."

Ham further noted, "Unlike Suji, there is still room for gap investments in Giheung, and as expectations rise that prices will catch up to Suji, buyers who feel burdened by high prices in other areas are turning to Giheung as an alternative."

The government's additional designation plan for land transaction permission zones announced on October 15 last year included all 25 autonomous districts of Seoul and 12 areas in Gyeonggi Province, but Giheung District of Yongin City and Dongtan of Hwaseong City were excluded. Only Suji District in Yongin City was included in the designation target.

If the market continues to overheat, the possibility of additional regulations cannot be ruled out. Both Giheung and Dongtan have seen prices and transaction volumes surge since the beginning of this year, placing them on the shortlist for additional designation as regulated areas or speculative zones. Although the designation of land transaction permit zones is not determined solely by quantitative criteria, there is widespread expectation that the government may pursue additional regulations through discussion if concerns about price surges continue to grow.

In particular, the "Partial Amendment to the Act on Reporting of Real Estate Transactions, etc.," which expands the authority of the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to directly designate permit zones, passed the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee with amendments in February and now awaits final approval in the plenary session. Under current law, only the mayor or governor can make such designations within a single city or province, but if the amendment passes and is enacted, the Minister will be able to designate overheated areas as permit zones without coordination with local government heads, allowing for the immediate blocking of gap investments.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.