The price of land had been soaring and land sales had been brisk for the past several years, but the market seems to be cooling.
Transactions dropped by over 50 percent last month in Seongsan, near the site of the second airport, and it has some investors concerned. Joseph Kim has details.

[slug]
Land transactions sharply decline in Seongsan

Since the announcement of the island’s second airport, land prices near the site in Seongsan-eup have skyrocketed. However, land transactions have fallen off drastically, with only 290,000 square meters changing hands last month.

In terms of area, that's a 56.35 percent drop from last year and the biggest drop in Jeju.

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Permission now required for land sales in Seongsan

Since the new airport announcement, Seongsan has been designated as a special zone where special authorization is required for land transactions.

The new regulations, coupled with soaring land prices, demand has stalled.

INTERVIEW
Go Chang-gwon / Real estate agent
Land transactions have stalled. The reality is much worse than the figure provided by the provincial government. The designation made purchasing land too difficult. Off-island investors can’t get their capital here.
<인터뷰: 고창권/ 성산공인중개사사무소 대표>
"지금 도에서 발표한 퍼센트(%) 이상 실감하는 것은 거래가 전무한 상태로... 여기가 토지거래허가구역으로 묶이면서 토지들이 거래하기가 상당히 어려운 시점에 있습니다. 그러다보니까 외지 자본들도 들어오기 어렵고..."

The phenomenon is not limited to Seongsan. Land transaction in (애월읍) Aewol-eup in Jeju City and (남원읍) Namwon-eup dropped 51 percent and 21 percent last month from a year before, respectively.


5,670,000 square meters of land changed hands in Jeju last month. In terms of area, that's an 11 percent drop from one year before.


The province believes that the land speculation crackdown that local authorities began at the end of last year has contributed to the stabilization of land transactions and it is planning to strengthen measures further.

INTERVIEW
Gang Chang-seok / Representative, Provincial government
I think the crackdown on land speculation is effective. The province has made efforts to ensure land zoned for agriculture is being properly used, and it has outlawed the purchase of parceled-out land for expensive housing developments.
<인터뷰: 강창석/ 道 디자인건축지적과장>
"부동산 투기 집중단속, 농지기능강화, 택지식 토지분할 불허 등 일단 기본적인 제도적으로 이를 강력하게 추진한 결과로 보여집니다."

[reporter]
Joseph Kim
[camera]
Hyeon Gwang-hoon

People are observing the market closely to find whether land prices have peaked, or if the slowdown is just a temporary phenomenon.

Joseph Kim KCTV