S. Korea's home transactions jump 30 pct in April

South Korea's home transactions soared nearly 30 percent in April from a year earlier, the government said Sunday, pointing to a possible recovery of the housing market.

The number of home transactions came to 120,488 in April, up 29.3 percent from a year earlier and 7.7 percent from the previous month, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

It marks the highest growth rate ever for April since the country began compiling related data in 2006, the ministry said.

April's surge was attributed largely to sharply increased home transactions in the capital region, apparently thanks to government measures taken last year to help revitalize the real estate market.

The measures included a 10-year reduction in the minimum age of large apartment buildings eligible for reconstruction, a move that has apparently encouraged investment in old homes, especially in Seoul.

In April, the number of home transactions in the capital region reached 63,712, up a whopping 47 percent from a year earlier, with the figure for Seoul shooting up 68 percent to 23,252.

The capital area, which includes the western port city of Incheon and all of Gyeonggi Province, is home to about half of the country's 50 million people.

By type, apartment transactions spiked 28.7 percent on-year to

83,483 across the nation in April, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)