No further loan curbs planned as Seoul's Gangnam area stabilizes, vice minister says

The government said Friday that the housing market is showing signs of stabilization, particularly in Seoul's three Gangnam-area districts, and ruled out any additional loan regulations beyond those announced last year.

Kim I-tak, first vice minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, made the remarks at the ministry's first regular housing supply briefing, held jointly with the Office for Government Policy Coordination at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu. "We are seeing a degree of stabilization, centered on the three Gangnam-area districts," Kim said. "There will be no additional loan regulations."

Kim said the government's supply expansion and demand management policies are contributing to market stabilization. The rate of change in Seoul's apartment sale price index has been narrowing since July, while the actual transaction price index has been doing the same since June. The pace of increase in jeonse — long-term deposit-based rental — prices has also been easing since June.

Buying sentiment has also cooled somewhat. The consumer sentiment index for Seoul's housing sales market fell from 132.5 in August to 130.8 in September. "The consumer sentiment index for Seoul's housing sales market has also declined, from 132.5 in August to 130.8 last month, showing that buying sentiment is easing to some degree," Kim said.

However, the government said it will closely monitor market conditions, as prices continue to rise in Seoul's outer districts and in the mid-to-low price segment. "We will comprehensively analyze a range of indicators — not just weekly price trends, but also the actual transaction price index, trading volume, the supply-demand index and the consumer sentiment index — to assess the housing market situation in an objective and balanced manner," Kim said.

"Going forward, we will proactively respond to any factors that could destabilize the housing market, while ensuring a sufficient supply of housing that people can actually feel, in order to firmly secure residential stability for the public," he added.