SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s housing market grew sharply more polarized last year, as soaring apartment prices in Seoul collided with prolonged stagnation in regional cities, pushing the price gap between the nation’s most expensive and cheapest homes to its widest level in years. According to data released Monday by the Korea Real [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae Myung’s decision not to automatically extend a temporary tax break for owners of multiple homes reflects an effort to restore policy normalcy and curb speculative investment in the housing market, a senior presidential aide said Monday, as opposition from property owners continues to mount. Lee Kyu-yeon, the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of newly opened real estate brokerage offices in South Korea fell last year to its lowest level since the Asian financial crisis, underscoring the prolonged slump gripping the country’s property market. According to data released Tuesday by the Korea Association of Realtors, just 9,150 licensed brokers opened new [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Household lending by South Korean banks declined in December for the first time in nearly a year, signaling the early impact of tighter government controls aimed at cooling an overheated housing market in the Seoul metropolitan area. Outstanding household loans at banks totaled 1,173.6 trillion won ($795 billion) at the [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s wealthy population continued to grow last year, exceeding 476,000 individuals with more than 1 billion won (about $760,000) in financial assets, according to a new report that highlights widening asset gaps and a renewed appetite for stock investments despite a climate of economic uncertainty. The 2025 Korea Wealth [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Household borrowing from South Korean banks grew at a slower pace in November as tighter mortgage regulations began to cool the heated property market in the Seoul metropolitan area, according to new data released Wednesday by the Bank of Korea. Outstanding household loans came to 1,175.6 trillion won ($799.6 billion) [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Beginning early next year, foreign nationals purchasing property in designated permit zones will be required to submit detailed documentation explaining how they intend to finance their purchases, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday. The regulation, part of a revised enforcement decree taking effect on February 10, follows [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul’s apartment market has slipped into a sharp slowdown following the government’s October 15 real estate policy, with transaction volume dropping steeply and demand in key Han River districts all but evaporating, government data show. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s real transaction system, there were 2,372 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s household wealth gap widened last year, driven largely by sharp gains in real estate values, according to a nationwide financial welfare survey released on Thursday by the Bank of Korea, the National Data Policy Office, and the Financial Supervisory Service. As of March 2025, the average household’s net [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Tax authorities said Thursday they will investigate more than 2,000 cases involving the transfer of high-value properties in upscale areas of Seoul over suspected tax evasion, amid tighter government regulations on real estate lending. A total of 2,077 property-transfer cases in the districts of Gangnam, Mapo, Yongsan and Seongsu [...]