Seoul's property gift transactions exceeded 2,000 cases last month, reaching the highest level in three years and four months. Ahead of the expiration of the capital gains tax moratorium for multi-home owners, both sales and gifts are accelerating.
According to the Supreme Court's Registry Information Plaza on Friday, Seoul recorded 2,153 gift transactions of collective buildings (apartments, row houses, multi-family homes and officetels) in April. This marks the highest level since December 2022, when 2,384 cases were registered. The figure represents a 220.9% increase from 671 cases a year earlier and a 518.7% surge from two years ago.
The upward trend is clear on a monthly basis. Gift transactions rose from 785 in January to 903 in February, 1,387 in March, and 2,153 in April. On February 12, the government announced that the capital gains tax moratorium for multi-home owners would end on May 9.
Gifts were concentrated in the Gangnam 3 districts. Songpa-gu recorded the most with 181 cases, followed by Seocho-gu with 142, Yangcheon-gu with 138, Nowon-gu with 125, and Gangnam-gu with 119. The Gangnam 3 districts accounted for 20.53% of total gift transactions.
Sales, by contrast, were more active in mid- to low-priced areas. According to the Saeol electronic civil service portal on Thursday, Nowon-gu recorded the highest number of land transaction permit applications in April with 1,065 cases, followed by Songpa-gu, Gangseo-gu, Seongbuk-gu and Guro-gu. The Gangnam 3 districts accounted for only 15.81% of the total.
Gyeonggi Province showed a similar trend. Gift transactions of collective buildings in Gyeonggi reached 1,547 in April, the highest in three years and four months since December 2022, when 2,669 cases were recorded. Gifts were particularly prominent in high-priced areas. Seongnam's Bundang-gu led with 89 cases, followed by Gwangmyeong with 85. Combined, the two areas accounted for 11.2% of total gifts in Gyeonggi.
As multi-home owners continue selling and gifting, the share of multi-home owners has continued to decline. According to the Supreme Court's Registry Information Plaza, the share of multi-home owners among collective building owners nationwide stood at 16.211% in April, the lowest level in three years and eight months since August 2022, when it was 12.202%.
Experts say multi-home owners are choosing between gift and sale strategies depending on the characteristics of their assets. "In mid- to low-priced areas with relatively fewer lending restrictions, sales account for a larger share, while in high-priced areas, it is difficult to find buyers and owners are reluctant to sell prime properties, prompting them to turn to gifting," said Yang Ji-young, a senior expert at Shinhan Premier Pathfinder. "Multi-home owners have largely completed the liquidation of their holdings, and additional properties could be put on the market depending on future policy changes in interest rates, holding taxes and rental business rules."
