South Korea’s official assessment values of communal houses across the country in 2023, including apartments and multi-family dwellings, posted a record drop due to a nationwide drop in real estate market prices.

The average assessment value fell 18.61 percent, the largest drop since the official system was introduced in 2005, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday. Given that the official value rose 17.2 percent last year, the value of this year has practically returned to the 2021 level.

As a result, property tax and comprehensive real estate holding tax, which are determined based on the official assessment values, will be reduced by more than 20 percent, easing the burden of households that had risen sharply during the previous Moon Jae-in administration that was criticized of being punitive taxation.

The number of single-property owners subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax will be reduced by nearly half to 231,000 this year from 456,000 a year ago. President Yoon Suk Yeol had pledged to return the property holding tax to 2020 level during his presidential campaign.

According to an estimate by the land ministry, the property holding tax levied to a person who owns only an apartment with the official value of 1.25 billion won ($957,121) will be 2.8 million won this year, 30.5 percent less than the 4.03 million won based on last year’s official value of 1.5 billion won. The official assessment values of individual houses can be viewed from midnight on Thursday on the website of the Korea Real Estate Board.

By Yeon Gyu-wook, Kim Yoo-sin, and Yoon Yeon-hae

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]