Organizations urge parliament to deliberate on real estate bills

“While core bills on realty estate policy are pending at the National Assembly, working class people face mounting pain. The National Assembly should not dump people’s expectation, and speedily approve related bills not only to ensure the stability in jeonse (rental home based on a lump-sum deposit) and monthly rental home prices but also to normalize the housing market.”

Twenty-six organizations involved in realty-related industries issued a “statement of appeal to stabilize people’s livelihoods and the working class housing” in front of the National Assembly in Seoul’s Yeouido at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, and submitted the statement to the assembly, ruling and opposition parties, and the presidential office.

This was the second time to issue a joint statement of appeal since August, when 18 organizations under the Federation of Construction Associations as well as organizations for self-employed in realty-related sectors gathered.

Growing sense of crisis has been spreading as a string of bills that the government put forward to normalize the housing market have remained pending for more than six months. Bills meant to revoke a heavier transfer tax on owners of multiple homes, and flexible operation of the new home price ceiling system have remained pending at the National Assembly for years, while measures the government is newly pushing from this year, such as allowance of vertical expansion of aged apartment buildings, which are all pending at the National Assembly. A bill on a permanent reduction of the home acquisition tax rate has yet to be submitted to the parliament.

“Anti-market regulations such as a heavier transfer tax on multiple home owners and the new home price ceiling system, which were introduced during a housing market bubble, should be all discarded as soon as possible,” the organizations said in their appeal. They added, “To revive the real estate market, the National Assembly should approve the major bills now showing signs of recovery in the realty market due to the latest measure.” The housing market in the Seoul metropolitan region, which perked up somewhat in recent weeks, even sees transactions decline in number since, with growth pace also slowing.

“As many as 2.23 million people are engaged in the construction, real estate and rental industries, and combined with people working in related industries of moving, interior design, realty brokerage and facilities businesses and their families. More than 10 million people depend their livelihoods on the realty industry,” the organizations said in their statement. “The recession in the housing market is a grave problem that threatens the economy of the working class.”