Residential properties including apartments covered through Aug. 25, 2027
Hanam city announced Tuesday that it will extend its "foreign land transaction permit zone" — designated last August to curb speculative real estate purchases by foreigners — for one year starting Wednesday through Aug. 25, 2027.
The move follows a notice from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and aims to prevent market disruption from indiscriminate real estate acquisitions by foreigners while establishing a sound transaction order centered on owner-occupancy.
The permit requirement covers transactions involving residential properties, including single-family homes, multi-household homes, multi-unit homes, row houses and apartments. The same area thresholds as before apply: transactions exceeding 6 square meters in residential zones and 15 square meters in commercial zones are subject to the requirement.
Foreigners seeking to acquire housing within the designated zone must obtain a land transaction contract permit in advance, move in within four months of the permit date, and fulfill a two-year owner-occupancy requirement.
Contracts concluded without a permit carry no legal effect, so prospective buyers are urged to verify in advance whether their transaction falls within the zone.
Shim Woo-seop, head of the land information division, said the city would "do its utmost in administrative management to prevent indiscriminate speculative transactions by foreigners and protect genuine end-users."
pjh@heraldcorp.com
