South Korean house prices fall in April for 11th straight month

SOUTH Korean house prices weakened for an 11th consecutive month in April – its longest streak of declines in 11 years – but the pace of falls continued to slow, data showed on Monday (May 15).

The nationwide house price index fell 0.47 per cent in April from the previous month, according to data from the Korea Real Estate Board.

That compares with a 0.78 per cent drop in March and marks the fourth straight month that the pace of decline has slowed, a sign that aggressive interest rate hikes and cooling economic growth are having an impact.

The data showed the house price index fell by a combined 8.53 per cent during the 11-month period, the worst since 2003 when the board began to release the data.

Still, the current cycle of decline was partly due to a price correction following a non-stop rally over 32 months until May 2022, the data showed.

The government has responded to weakness in the property market by easing financial regulations for home buyers. REUTERS