The Korean housing industry on Wednesday urged the swift passage of government housing supply-related bills currently pending at the National Assembly, ahead of the plenary session held the same day.
The Korea Housing Builders Association (KHBA) and the Korea Housing Association appealed on Tuesday that the political sphere should pass the housing supply-related bills pending at the National Assembly through bipartisan cooperation transcending individual interests, in order to resolve housing market uncertainty and stabilize public housing conditions.
In a joint statement issued the same day, the two associations expressed concern, saying, "The housing market slump has been prolonged due to the recent continuation of high interest rates and rising construction costs," and "Core bills designed to normalize the market and revitalize supply are not being processed due to delays in National Assembly consensus." They also pointed out that although the government has announced measures, uncertainty in the housing market is rather being amplified as follow-up legislation to support these measures is being delayed.
Earlier, the government announced in September last year and January this year that it would supply more than 3,000 public rental housing units by utilizing idle school sites, and more than 13,000 housing units in the Yongsan Station area by using scattered sites around the Yongsan U.S. military base. However, to implement these plans, the Act on the Support of Complex Development of School Sites and the Special Act on the Creation of Yongsan Park need to be amended. The government also announced that it would increase the number of housing units supplied by providing floor area ratio incentives for public redevelopment and reconstruction projects, which requires the amendment of the Act on the Promotion of Urban Renewal. However, as the opposition party opposes the processing of the bills, related legislation remains pending at the National Assembly, and the government's housing supply plans are unable to gain momentum.
The KHBA and the Korea Housing Association stressed, "Amid an extreme transaction cliff, housing anxiety is mounting among actual end-users who have been waiting only for the passage of the related bills," and "Confusion is growing among citizens who have been anticipating institutional improvements and expanded housing supply. If the bills are not processed in a timely manner, the housing ladder for ordinary citizens could face the risk of being severed."
The associations also pointed out that funding constraints in the housing construction industry are worsening as business uncertainty grows. The two associations emphasized, "Difficulties in pushing forward projects due to legislative delays will ultimately lead to a weakening of the mid- to long-term housing supply foundation," and "This could cause greater market instability and a downturn in regional domestic economies going forward."
The two associations appealed, "There can be no division between ruling and opposition parties in the face of the critical task of stabilizing public housing," and "We hope that they will demonstrate cooperation from a broader perspective to provide relief to the housing market, which has been pushed to the brink."
