What happened, and who moved.

South Korea’s Igis Asset Management leads today’s real estate headlines from aroun Asia Pacific with a $612 million acquisition of Seoul’s Doosan Tower. Also in the news are Singapore’s ESR-REIT divesting an Ang Mo Kio industrial property for S$33.3 million... Read More>> The post Igis Completes $612M Buy of…

SK Telecom establishes SK Hyper to invest 750 billion won and build 15GW of AI data centers by 2035, transforming from a telecom carrier into an AI infrastructure architect.
An affiliate of South Korea's Hana Asset Management and Southern California's Ocean West Capital Partners has defaulted on the $88.1 million Deutsche Bank loan secured by a four-building North San Jose office campus that has sat empty since eBay walked away in 2020, clearing a path toward foreclosure on one of…
Firm doubles previously stated data center investment

Korea's land ministry uncovered 346 suspected illegal real estate deals near new housing supply sites, including corporations falsely reporting contract dates and prices in 249 cases.

Daewoo E&C is expanding into Southeast Asia with Vietnam and Indonesia as key bases, pursuing new city developments, data centers, nuclear power, and railway infrastructure projects.

US AI data center power shortages are driving orders for Korean suppliers of Bloom Energy's SOFC fuel cells, with Amosense, Coseus, and Seojin System expanding contracts and capacity.

Seoul apartment sales hit a yearly low of 5,065 in June as tax reform looms, with July land permit applications down 14.7% and housing affordability burden at a 3-year high.

A median-income Seoul household earning 5 million won a month must spend 46% of income on loan repayments to buy a home, as the housing affordability index hit a three-year high of 179.3.

Seoul's Housing Affordability Index hit 179.3 in Q1, the highest in over three years, meaning median-income households must spend about 46% of monthly income on home loan repayments.

A commentary on Korea's real estate tax system, which encouraged "smart single home" concentration and now aims to raise taxes on ultra-high-priced homes, urging a responsible transition.

Nvidia has reportedly signed a lease worth up to $50 billion for a 1GW Texas data center built by Hut 8, reigniting circular financing concerns in the AI infrastructure market.

HUG CEO Choi In-ho explains how financial guarantees serve as the invisible foundation behind Korea's housing supply, from public housing projects to PF special guarantees and tailored products.

Korea's government will keep comprehensive real estate tax rates unchanged for ultra-luxury single homes but cut deductions, raising tax burdens at both ownership and transfer stages.

Korea's government plans to develop key public sites in Seocho and Yeouido, plus vacant school lots, and revive urban complex projects to expand Seoul housing supply.

Korea's government is reviewing a shift to value-based comprehensive real estate tax on ultra-luxury homes, which could slow prime-area demand but worsen supply shortages without lower transaction taxes.
Brookfield and Nvidia to invest up to $10bn in campus

Kakao, Woori Bank, and Shinhan Bank's mega data center project in Namyangju has stalled after regulators suspended its review over 300 MW power and water supply concerns.

Korea's government plans to include the Seoul Regional Procurement Office, an LH Yeouido site, and closed school sites like Cheongdam High School in upcoming housing supply measures.

Korea's plan to base its comprehensive real estate tax on asset value may ease the "premium home" rush in Gangnam and the Han River belt but could deepen a supply freeze, experts say.

South Gyeongsang Province has landed Korea's first 100MW defense-only AI data center in a 1.6555 trillion won deal, creating 200 ICT jobs and boosting defense AI R&D.

Naver pursues a $10 billion AI factory with Nvidia and Brookfield, while SK Telecom and Samsung SDS partner with Nvidia and Anthropic, positioning Korea as a global AI data center hub.

Korea plans to shift its comprehensive real estate tax base from the number of homes owned to combined property value, overhauling the system for the first time in four years.

KB Kookmin Bank nearly tripled its real estate PF credit support to 3.376 trillion won in H1 2025, accounting for 40.6% of Korea's four major banks, to back redevelopment projects.

Korea plans to overhaul its comprehensive real estate tax, targeting ultra-high-value homes worth 3-4 billion won in assessed value while considering raising the 1.2 billion won basic deduction for single-home owners.

Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) is set for a sweeping executive reshuffle under new President Lee Sung-hoon, aiming to accelerate government housing supply policy.
NAVER has partnered with Brookfield and NVIDIA to support expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure development in South Korea.

Korea's Presidential Office announced an AI data center (AIDC) investment cooperation deal with global Big Tech firms on a scale of 2 million GPUs.

Korea's Land Minister Kim Yun-duk and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met to discuss housing supply expansion and easing redevelopment regulations, though no specific 10,000-unit Yongsan plan was agreed.

Korea's FSC plans to ease group loan caps for housing supply while cutting the jeonse loan public guarantee ratio to 70% and restricting non-resident single-home owners, with measures due by the 30th.

Korean real estate experts say the government's public-led "supply at all costs" push cannot solve the housing crunch alone, urging a four-pronged approach as Seoul apartment prices rise for 75 straight weeks.

SK Telecom will establish SK Hyper, a subsidiary dedicated to AI data centers, investing 750 billion won by 2030 to build 15GW of infrastructure across Korea.

President Lee Jae-myung vowed to review cutting third-phase new town construction to less than half and to scout land sites by helicopter, at a national real estate policy debate.

Experts clash over reviving Korea's non-apartment housing supply, debating tax and financial support versus concerns that villas and officetels lack real market demand.

Professor Jin Mi-yun warns Korea's housing supply pipeline is breaking down, not facing a temporary shortage, and proposes six tasks to restore supply and ease housing costs.

At Korea's National Public Debate on Real Estate Policy, calls mounted to ease relocation loan rules for redevelopment, as multi-home owner limits raise costs and delay projects.

Apartment price gains are cooling in Dongtan and Yeongtong but spreading to Bundang (0.58%) and Suji (0.50%) in southern Gyeonggi, per Korea Real Estate Board data for the third week of July.

President Lee Jae-myung pledged to halve the delayed groundbreaking time for third-phase new towns and said the government aims to normalize the housing market rather than forcibly lower prices.

70 Seoul redevelopment zones remain stalled despite receiving management and disposal plan approval, as construction cost disputes and low profitability slow groundbreaking across the city.

LS ELECTRIC and LG Uplus signed an MOU to jointly develop DC-based power infrastructure for AI data centers, targeting Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform with 800V DC technology.

Korea's national net worth rose 2.2% to 24,561 trillion won in 2024, while housing market value jumped 8%, the largest increase since 2021, the Bank of Korea said.

Seoul's ultra-high-end apartment market is rebounding as Apgujeong's Shin Hyundai 12 set a record at 11.25 billion won, though transactions have halved ahead of a tax overhaul.
First phase to offer 40MW

Seoul's ultra-high-end apartment market is recovering, with Apgujeong's Shinhyundai 11 trading at 10.5 billion won, though transactions have halved ahead of Korea's upcoming tax reform.

Ha Jung-woo, former presidential AI secretary, warns AI data centers risk burdening the public and should serve Korean industries rather than global big tech.

China's Z.ai has completed a 1GW data center built entirely with domestic chips, using over 10,000 semiconductors, the largest among Chinese AI firms, and begun partial operation.

Wall Street banks including BlackRock and Morgan Stanley are emerging as key winners of the AI boom, arranging tens of billions of dollars in data center financing and reshaping capital markets.

ESR has partnered with Wide Creek AMC to develop the first data centre facility in South Korea.
ESR completed the sale of a fully leased data and logistics centre located in Goyang, South Korea.

Seoul will apply general FAR and building coverage standards to closed school sites developed into public, cultural, or sports facilities, easing rules and boosting housing supply capacity.

Samsung SDS targets 6.6 trillion won in annual data center revenue by 2031, expanding AI data centers in Haenam and Gumi and growing its DBO design-build-operate business to over 500 MW.

Presidential Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom outlined differentiated taxation on ultra-luxury homes, a possible capital gains tax adjustment to spur sales, and rejected redevelopment as a "master key" for housing supply.

Gwangju's Champions City, a large complex development on a former textile mill site, gains momentum as an 800 trillion won semiconductor cluster plan boosts the local property market ahead of September apartment sales.

Xi S&D CEO Koo Bon-sam vows defect-free construction as its premium, targeting 2 trillion won in orders and expanding into senior housing and AI data centers.

Shinsegae relaunched its Gangnam Factory Store after a renovation growing it from ~1,090 to ~1,388 sqm, and is expanding the format to 23 domestic locations.

Lotte Hotels & Resorts unveiled 'The Grand Lotte,' debuting at the renovated main building of Lotte Hotel Seoul, its first high-end brand launch since 2017.
Hyatt opened Hyatt Place Seoul Pangyo, the brand's first Seoul location, in the Pangyo tech hub.

Hyosung Heavy Industries and ST Telemedia Global Data Centres inaugurated STT Seoul 1, a 30MW Tier III-certified AI/cloud data centre in Geumcheon District.

Korea Investment Real Asset bought the 23-storey Seoul Square office tower, downtown Seoul's former Daewoo Group headquarters, for KRW1.28 trillion (EUR712m) from an affiliate of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing.