홍남기 "지분적립형 주택, 20∼25% 지분으로 입주…2023년 분양"<br /><br />New measures to cool down South Korea's overheated real estate market and help first-time buyers get their first homes.<br />Seoul's finance ministry unveiled the measures today - apartments built by the government will have smaller down payments and a property tax hike for expensive homes to bring prices down.<br />Kim Jae-hee reports.<br />The government has laid out its latest plan to help young people, particularly newly-married couples, get onto the property ladder.<br />Under the government's new plan, first-time buyers will be able to buy new government-built properties with a smaller initial deposit.<br />This is according to South Korea's Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki Wednesday as he spoke at a ministerial meeting related to the real estate market.<br />Under the government's new plan, buyers can pay an initial deposit of just 20 to 25 percent of the property's value and pay off the rest over time.<br />The buyers can divide repayments into 10 to 15 percent chunks every four years, so they will eventually own the property outright within 20 to 30 years.<br />Until they fully own the property, they will have to pay rent, but this will be set below the market rate.<br />The government plans to gradually apply this new measure to new housing sites from 2023.<br />"We believe the new plan will mitigate the initial burden on ordinary people who dream of buying a house, but lack the financial means to do so."<br />The minister also said the government is looking to change the way it assesses the value of real estate for taxation, so it better reflects the market price.<br />It currently assesses homes at 69 percent of their market value, but under the plan, by 2030, the government will assess them at between 80 and 100 percent of their value.<br />However, the government intends to introduce new policies to prevent this change in property tax valuations from adversely affecting people who own a single low or mid-priced home.<br />The minister said that the government will announce these measures in the coming days, after consulting with the ruling Democratic party.<br />Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.<br />
