Standard Land Prices Fall for 1st Time in Decade

Official prices for standard land, a measure in setting officially assessed land prices for 29 million plots of land nationwide, dropped 1.42 percent from a year ago for their first drop in 10 years.

Official prices for standard land had steadily risen since the system was adopted in 1989, except in 1999 when they dropped 9.34 percent year-on-year.

The Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Ministry said yesterday that prices for 500,000 plots of standard land will be announced today through the official ministry gazette.

By region, Seoul suffered the steepest fall with 2.25 percent, followed by Gyeonggi Province with 1.6 percent. Daejeon and North Chungcheong Province fell 1.17 percent each, Jeju Island dropped 1.13 percent, and Gwangju 1.02 percent.

Standard land prices in North Jeolla Province, however, grew 0.99 percent and those in Incheon rose 0.34 percent.

Of 249 small municipal areas nationwide, 223 saw official prices for standard land drop. The hardest hit areas included Yongin-Suji with 5.1 percent; Yeongi in South Chungcheong Province 3.99 percent; Seoul`s Gangnam 3.23 percent, Yongin`s Giheung district 3.22 percent; and Seongnam`s Bundang district 3.17 percent.

Gunsan in North Jeolla Province saw standard land prices rise 9.1 percent due to the Saemangeum land reclamation project and its designation as a free economic zone.

The ministry blamed the price falls on delays in development projects stemming from the economic downturn and declining demand for housing and commercial land.

aryssong@donga.com