Home transactions gained 2.2 percent from a year earlier last month, government data showed Tuesday, amid an apparent rise in demand triggered by a government plan to limit the supply of new homes.
The number of home transactions came to 108,601 in October, compared with 106,274 in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
October marked the third consecutive month of on-year gain.
From the previous month, the October tally marked a 18.5 percent spike.
The steady increase in demand for homes follows a set of government measures, announced in late August, that sought to limit the number of new homes over the upcoming years as a way of reducing household debt, currently at a record high.
As increased demand pushed up home prices, especially in Seoul and its surrounding areas, the government announced a separate set of measures at the start of this month aimed at curbing price hikes. Those measures included a temporary ban on the resale of purchasing rights for new apartments in four districts in Seoul that have been deemed most prone to speculation.
Again reflecting high demand for homes in the capital, home transactions in Seoul jumped 10.3 percent on-year to 22,433 in October, while home transactions in the entire capital region that include the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and the western port city of Incheon rose 8.1 percent to 60,728.
Home transactions in the rest of the country slipped 4.4 percent on-year to 47,873, according to the ministry.
By housing type, home transactions involving apartment units gained 5.8 percent on-year to 74,208, while those involving row houses slipped 1.6 percent to 20,202, with transactions involving detached houses plunging 9.1 percent to 14,191. (Yonhap)
