KOR
▲ Lee Sung-hoon, President and CEO of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), answers lawmakers' questions regarding the increase in LH's debt during a parliamentary audit by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held at the National Assembly on the 12th.
Lee Sung-hoon, President and CEO of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), predicted that housing prices could plunge in the future due to factors such as expanded housing supply and rising interest rates.
President Lee made the remark today (the 12th) during the parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and its affiliated organizations, including LH, held by the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, after People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye criticized his previous remarks calling for tightened loan regulations for first-time homebuyers.
"I made that remark taking into account the possibility that housing prices could plunge going forward," Lee said. "There is a fairly high possibility of a sharp drop, and we are working hard on supplying housing."
He added, "There is a lot of criticism that we have crushed the hopes of young people and newlyweds, but we are currently supplying housing diligently." He explained repeatedly, "Interest rates are also rising, so housing prices may not continue to rise and could drop significantly."
On September 30, President Lee met with reporters at the site of the Yongin High-Tech System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex in Gyeonggi Province and stated the need to tighten the 600 million won mortgage loan limit applied to homes priced at 1.5 billion won or less in order to stabilize the housing market.
"First-time buyers are granted up to 70% in LTV (loan-to-value ratio), and many people in the market max that out to competitively buy homes," Lee said, adding, "We need to consider whether such continuous increases in housing prices benefit our community."
Pointing out Lee's past remarks, lawmaker Kim asked, "If first-time homebuyer loans are reduced, how are newlyweds and young people supposed to buy homes?" and demanded alternatives.
In response, President Lee answered, "If housing prices were to keep rising, people would have to compete to buy homes, but once the market stabilizes, you will not suffer any losses even if you do not buy a home right now."
He also added, "Housing prices peaked in 2021 and then dropped significantly thereafter as high interest rates set in."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
