(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Real estate experts forecast a market downturn throughout the country next year, although some see a chance of an increase in prices in the capital area, a survey showed Wednesday.
According to a report from KB Financial Group’s research institute, 70.5 percent of 112 people specialized in the property market predicted a decline in home prices next year. The largest group of 31.3 percent expected a fall of between 1 and 3 percent, while 17 percent betted on a dip of 3 to 5 percent.
An overwhelming majority of 87.5 percent said the housing market will slump in non-metropolitan regions, with a more than 5 percent price loss forecast by 19.6 percent of the people polled.
For the capital and its adjacent locations, 58.9 percent of the experts said prices will rise.
The same specialists also anticipated dulled home transactions. The survey said 64.3 percent agreed with the prospects. The number was a higher 77.7 percent for non-capital regions.
The results were generally the same in other surveys, including a canvass of 512 realtors who work with KB Financial. In this poll, 76.3 percent said home prices will fall. The difference was that among them, 70.2 percent said they will decline for housing in Seoul as well.
On the volume of transactions, 72.5 percent of the realtors said it will shrink in Seoul, a higher number than for the rest of the country.
In another poll of 72 private bankers who service the rich, 73.6 percent similarly said the home prices will fall for all parts of the country. Among them, 30.6 percent said the prices will plummet more than 3 percent.
A survey of 3,000 residents in Seoul and six other major cities indicated that roughly 11 percent of the households are multiple real estate owners, while 35 percent do not own any.
(Yonhap)
