SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s finance minister on Thursday vowed to take policy steps to stabilise the real estate market, as house prices are rising in the area of the capital Seoul.
“Volatility is increasing in the real estate market recently, with apartment prices rising more sharply in Seoul and the wider capital area,” Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said during a policy meeting with the land minister.
“The government will make an all-out effort to stabilise the real estate market,” Choi said.
Choi said the government would take policy measures to increase house supplies, speed up the restructuring of real estate project financing, and step up efforts to control the rise in household debt.
The government will consider “extraordinary” measures if the real estate market is deemed overheated due to speculative demand, Choi said.
Last week, the Bank of Korea said household debt growth and rising home prices were key factors the central bank was watching, as it opened the door for rate cuts after keeping the policy rate unchanged at 3.50%, the highest since late 2008, for the 12th straight meeting.
In June, South Korea’s house prices rose 0.04% over the month, snapping a six-month run of declines. Prices rose 0.38% in Seoul, the fastest since November 2021, according to Korea Real Estate Board data.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Ed Davies)
