SOKORS PUNISHED BY SKYROCKETING HOUSE PRICES

Skyrocketing property prices in South Korea are leaving ordinary people struggling to find affordable housing, especially in the capital Seoul and surrounding areas, Kyodo News reported.

According to KB Kookmin Bank, the average price of a condominium in Seoul in April rose to some 1.11 billion won ($1 million). A survey by civic group Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice showed that the price has come close to doubling during the four years since 2017.

With interest rates reduced as part of measures against the coronavirus pandemic, cheap money has flowed into an already overheated real estate market, and with no end in sight to the run-up in prices, concerns are simmering over the eventual bursting of the bubble.

Homeownership has been a dream for many South Koreans.

Lee Hyo Sook, a 40-year-old office worker, purchased a 25-year-old condominium of about 60 square meters for 220 million won in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, in January.

"The only place we could buy was an old and small one on the periphery of Seoul," lamented Lee, who took the opportunity to begin searching for a home when she married last December.

After failing to find a rental property in Seoul within her budget range, she tried Siheung, a city more than one hour away from the capital on public transport, as the next best option.

Even so, housing prices there were also rising at a precipitous pace. After her purchase, the price of nearby properties rose further. It even happens that the day before a formal contract is to be signed, the property owner will demand another 10 million won, and tear up the provisional contract if it is refused.

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