Apartment Sales in Seoul Brisk Again

Sales of apartments in Seoul recovered to the highest level in 16 months in February. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 1,982 apartments were bought and sold in the capital last month, up almost 40 percent from January and the highest number of transactions in 16 months.

The increase was attributed to the easing of regulations on housing loans and punitive taxes aimed at stimulating the stagnant real estate market.

Transactions have been rising for four straight months since they plunged to just 559 in October after a sharp interest rate hike.

In January numbers recovered to 1,419 after the government took the entire area of Seoul except the three flash Gangnam districts and Yongsan off a list of real-estate speculation zones.

The availability since January of housing loans of up to W500 million to buy affordable homes costing less than W900 million also contributed to the spike in sales.

But market watchers say it is still too early to diagnose a full-fledged recovery since average monthly transaction volume used to stand at 6,000 to 8,000.