Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki plans to issue a public message about the housing market Wednesday, the finance ministry said Tuesday, as the government seeks to stabilize high-flying home prices.
Hong plans to hold a press briefing Wednesday to explain the government’s assessment of the current housing market and state its housing policy goal, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Hong has repeatedly warned that housing prices could fall at any time as prices of apartments in the greater Seoul area have risen to levels just before their previous peaks.
The country’s top economic policymaker said excessive demand for home buying could ease amid the central bank’s move toward monetary tightening and stricter regulations on household lending.
But amid sluggish housing transactions, the growth of home prices has picked up since May in Seoul due largely to expectations of eased rules on the reconstruction of old apartments in the capital.
Housing prices grew 1 percent in July from the previous month, compared with a 1.01 percent on-month gain in June, according to monthly housing data from KB Kookmin Bank.
The government has unleashed a series of comprehensive measures to stem the rising home prices, but the regulations resulted in only a short-term letup.
Source: Yonhap News Agency