South Korea's house price decline in May, softest in 10 months

SOUTH Korea’s house price decline softened in May to the weakest pace in 10 months, data showed on Thursday (Jun 15), amid rising hopes for a recovery in the market.

The nationwide house transaction price index fell 0.22 per cent in May, more than halving from April’s 0.47 per cent loss, according to the Korea Real Estate Board data.

It was a 12th consecutive month for the index to log a monthly loss. Still, its declining pace was the softest since July, continuing to ease from the record 1.98 per cent drop in December.

The board said transaction prices rose in some areas of high preference amid hopes for a market recovery, capping the headline index’s decline.

South Korea’s central bank held interest rates steady last month, remaining on hold for a third straight meeting after its last hike in January.

The slowing rate of house price decline this year came after the government introduced policy measures including tax cuts and special loans to engineer a soft-landing of the real estate market. REUTERS