EASED PROPERTY REGULATIONS TO BE EXPANDED

[Anchor Lead]

The government is speeding up efforts to ease real-estate regulations with the real estate market crumbling down day by day. The government is expected to lift all regulations except for Seochogu, Gangnamgu, Songpagu and Yongsangu districts. Areas subject to price ceiling are also expected to decrease.

[Pkg]

An apartment complex in Nowon-gu District, Seoul. A 49 square meter unit here was sold for around 480 million won last month. That's over 30 percent off the price recorded about a year ago. What's more, no more units have been sold since then.

[Soundbite] (Realtor (VOICE MODIFIED)) : "We're receiving inquiries about prices, but when people find out that apartment prices are still high, they just hang up. They expect them to fall more."

The plunge in apartment prices in Seoul has been widening each month. The government will likely lift real estate regulations in more areas. Last year the government lifted regulations three times, except for four areas including Seoul, Gwacheon and Seongnam. But they will likely be taken off the overheated speculation zones list except for Seochogu, Gangnamgu, Songpagu and Yongsangu districts. The last time for such a move to happen was in August 2017. Once the regulations are lifted, mortgages of up to 70 percent of the house price will be permitted and the capital gains tax imposed on multiple-home owners will be cut. There will be fewer areas with a price ceiling on newly built apartments, which is necessary to prevent housing prices from spiking following deregulation. The price ceiling currently applies to 309 areas in 18 districts in Seoul and 13 areas in Gwacheon, Hanam and Gwangmyeong. Once lifted, the restriction on the resale of ownership for apartments that are still under construction will be shortened. Property owners will no longer be required to reside in their apartments for a certain period of time before selling them.

[Soundbite] Woo Byoung-tark(Shinhan Bank) : "It's going to take at least 6 months for the policy to show any real results. Housing prices will likely stay high in the first half of the year."

However, some analysts say such measures could cause a spike in house prices when the situation in the real estate market changes.