Booming housing market boosts home interior-related stocks

Shares of construction parts and home interior-related companies have sharply surged this year on rising hope that the rebounding real estate market would boost needs for house renovation and remodeling, data showed Wednesday.

The latest rally comes as the government has eased rules for mortgage lending and reconstruction of old apartments to shore up the tepid real estate market. About 420,000 new apartments are expected to be sold this year, the highest level since 2000 and a 28 percent on-year hike.

In the stock market, the biggest beneficiary from the resurging housing market was companies that supply construction parts and interior materials.

Daelim B&Co, a toilet manufacturer, has skyrocketed 563.8 percent this year through Tuesday, according to market researcher FnGuide.

Shares of Haatz Inc., a built-in furniture and kitchen designer, water pipe supplier Nuvotec Co. and Byuksan Corp., a construction materials manufacturer, more than doubled this year, it said.

Rising interests in do-it-yourself interior design and remodeling also enhanced the outlook for companies that supply home decoration materials and paints.

Chokwang Paint Co. soared 82.6 percent and Noroo Paint & Coatings Co. jumped 77.9 percent this year.

Analysts say there is further room for growth as a sharp rise in demand was expected to push up their sales prices.

"Sales of construction materials will grow for at least next two years," Chae Sang-wook, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities, said. "As supply remains tight, the average sales prices for overall construction materials are expected to rise."

The market value of all apartments in South Korea grew more than 2 percent over the past six months, apparently helped by the government's stimulus efforts and record-low interest rates, according to data by Real Estate 114, a real estate information provider. The building and interior parts market was estimated at 26 trillion won this year, up 18 percent from a year ago. (Yonhap)