Home prices in Seoul rise at fastest pace in more than 4 years By Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s home prices rose at a faster pace in July, as prices in the capital Seoul jumped by the most in more than four years, data showed on Friday, amid growing concerns about financial stability risk stemming from a bullish housing market.

The house transaction price index rose 0.15% in July, faster than a monthly rise of 0.04% in June and the fastest since October 2023, according to the Korea Real Estate Board.

Prices in Seoul jumped 0.76% over the month, the sharpest rise since December 2019, as demand for investment grew in areas undergoing or planned for reconstruction and resulted in more transactions at record-high prices.

Earlier this month, the government unveiled measures to boost supply in the real estate market, targeting the building of more than 400,000 new homes in the next six years to curb steep rises in prices.

In July, the Bank of Korea opened the door for interest rate cuts, but the board was divided over when to act amid concerns about lower borrowing costs fuelling price increases in the housing market. The central bank next meets on Aug. 22.