Minister Noh Hyung-wook: "Listings Increase but Trading Volume Decreases... Signs of Housing Market Stabilization"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyung-wook is responding to questions from lawmakers at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 4th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyun-wook stated, "As the government's efforts to increase supply, the Bank of Korea's base rate hikes, and strengthened household debt management work comprehensively, the number of listings is increasing while transaction volume is decreasing," adding, "This is understood as a sign of stabilization in the housing market."

Minister Noh made these remarks on the 4th during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee in response to a question from Hong Ki-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who said, "It seems the housing market is entering a stable phase."

Rep. Hong said, "According to the Korea Real Estate Board's weekly trend survey, the nationwide housing price increase has slowed for 12 consecutive weeks, and last year's apartment transaction volume dropped to 40,000 units, the lowest in nine years since 2012," adding, "The sales supply-demand index nationwide has fallen below the baseline of 100, indicating that the entire country is entering a buyer-favored stable market."

Minister Noh emphasized, "Last year, 32,000 housing units were supplied, and if an additional 70,000 units are supplied this year, the total will exceed 460,000 units," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that there is no talk of rising house prices due to a shortage of housing supply in the market."

Earlier, in his New Year's address this year, Minister Noh also explained, "Fortunately, the previous efforts to expand supply, combined with interest rate hikes and household debt management, along with macroeconomic changes, have led most market indicators to show signs of stabilization in the housing market."

However, on this day, the opposition raised their voices, criticizing the government's real estate measures as insufficient.

Song Eon-seok, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out, "Expanding supply significantly is fundamental, but the government remains negligent in expanding supply," adding, "The number of move-in units in Seoul and Gyeonggi has decreased this year; is this downward pressure or upward pressure?"

In response, Minister Noh said, "Compared to 2021, the number of apartments in Seoul has slightly decreased, but it is not a small amount," adding, "The total scale combining Seoul apartments and general housing is increasing compared to last year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.