Safety spending drives two-thirds of Korea's 4.07% presale benchmark increase

In July the trigger was steel. High-strength bars had jumped about 18.6% after the March notice, and the off-cycle revision moved the benchmark 0.77% to 2.237 million won a square meter ^[6]. Two months later a document about how to count overheads moved it 4.07% ^[3][10]. Of the 91,000 won added, 59,000 won came from indirect costs, which leaves 32,000 won, or about 35%, for materials and everything else ^[3][9][1].

Together the two revisions take the benchmark from 2.22 million won in March to 2.328 million won, up 4.86% in half a year ^[2]. Repeat that in the second half and you get about 10% over twelve months ^[3]. The longer record is calmer: 27.3% since March 2022, roughly 5.5% a year compounded ^[8][4]. The construction cost index for July stood at 138.59, up 5.8% from a year earlier ^[19].

The 9.77% rise in indirect costs, to 663,000 won a square meter, traces to the "2026 Standards for Applying Indirect Construction Costs in Cost Calculation" published by the Public Procurement Service in April, in line with the government's policy of strengthening support for safety spending at every stage of construction ^[9][10]. If the next scheduled notice, due March 1, comes in near zero, the half-year run rate is not a trend ^[5].

The 10.01 million won has to be read against what public presale winners have actually been handed ^[14]. Namyangju Wangsuk 2's A-3 block finalised 84A units at 732.45 million won, 169.15 million won above the pre-subscription estimate, which puts that estimate at 563.3 million won ^[17][6]. Goyang Changneung's S-1 block came in at 783.4 million won, 141.61 million won over an estimate of 641.79 million won, or 22.1% ^[18][7]. One benchmark revision of 10.01 million won is 5.9% of the Namyangju gap ^[8]. Land costs and the premiums for land and construction carry the rest, together with project conditions at the time of the main subscription ^[11][13].

So the pass-through is real and narrower than the headline percentage suggests: the September step is worth about a tenth of the shock already delivered at Namyangju ^[8]. The benchmark does set the floor under every complex that files for approval to recruit occupants on or after the 15th, including private schemes in Seoul's three Gangnam districts and Yongsan, where the cap applies ^[4][12].

Owner-occupier applicants who do not own a home budgeted from pre-subscription estimates, and the price they pay is fixed by the benchmark in force at their main subscription ^[13][20]. Incheon Gyeyang's A6 block opens its main subscription on the 17th and 18th at 695 million to 716 million won for 84 square meters, against 549 million to 584 million won for comparable units in the same new town's A2 block in October 2024 ^[15][16]. That is 146 million won more at the bottom of each range, 26.6% in two years ^[9].