Land ministry says home prices stabilizing

The government claimed credit Tuesday for its latest real estate policy bringing down housing prices in Seoul.

The price of a home in Seoul was up 0.33 percent in the fifth week of July, just ahead of the government announcement of the new policy on Aug. 2, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in its report to the parliament. Immediately after the announcement, prices fell 0.03 percent in the first week of August and 0.04 percent in the second week, it said.

"The overheated situation is quickly stabilizing," the ministry added.

The Aug. 2 measures designated all of Seoul and parts of other major cities as excessively speculated zones, limiting housing transactions in the named locations. They also reined in housing loans to more strictly match borrowers' income and value of collaterized real estate.

Home prices in the four most speculated districts in southern Seoul fell 0.11 percent in the first and second weeks of August, and the average national price rose a stable 0.01 percent, the ministry said.

"We will analyze the effects of the Aug. 2 measures and closely monitor the housing market to decide whether to make more designations of speculated zones should the market overheat again," it said.

The ministry said it will have a roadmap for "housing welfare" next month to benefit newlyweds and youths and to provide 170,000 rental homes while pursuing law revisions to prevent gentrification in the process of city renewals. (Yonhap)