SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s house prices rose slightly in July after 13 months of decline, data showed on Wednesday, with the rise led by demand for preferred residential complexes in the capital area.
Korea Real Estate Board’s nationwide house transaction price index rose 0.03% in July, after a 0.05% fall in June, and posted its first monthly rise since May 2022.
By region, home prices in the capital city of Seoul rose 0.15% and those in the greater capital area also climbed 0.15%, while the decline in other areas softened to 0.09% from 0.13% the month before.
House prices rose at a faster pace in Seoul amid expectations for a recovery, while prices continued a rising trend in the greater area as urgent sales were cleared off, the board said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the government eased financial regulations on home-buyers and introduced a temporary policy mortgage loan in efforts to achieve a soft-landing for the falling market.
Together with rising home prices, South Korea’s household debt increased for a fourth straight month in July and by the biggest amount in almost two years, separate data showed last week, however, raising policymakers’ worries about financial imbalances.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
