Morning "Open Runs" for Mortgages as Loan Limits Tighten

[Anchor]

These days, getting a mortgage depends less on your income or credit rating and more on how quickly you apply. Because loans are handled on a first-come, first-served basis, the daily application quota is exhausted almost instantly, even for those who apply at the crack of dawn. With banks approaching their annual loan limits despite it still being August, obtaining a loan is becoming an even greater hurdle for ordinary citizens.

Reporting by Kim Hye-min.

[Reporter]

We tried applying for a mortgage with internet-only bank KakaoBank.

Even during a weekday morning, a message popped up stating that "loan applications are unavailable as the daily application limit has been exceeded."

KakaoBank accepts mortgage applications starting at 6:00 a.m. every day, but the daily limit is depleted in the blink of an eye.

Online, it is easy to find posts ranging from failed "open run" attempts to tips and know-how on succeeding.

The open runs for internet bank loans are driven by the higher lending barriers recently erected by commercial banks.

The household loan increases of the top five commercial banks have already exceeded their annual targets by more than 1 trillion won.

Starting with KB 국민은행 last month, banks have lowered mortgage limits and successively suspended new applications through non-face-to-face channels or loan brokers.

This has left buyers who have already completed property purchase contracts, as well as prospective residents in need of balance payment loans, in an urgent scramble.

In one prospective apartment complex in Seoul, prospective residents must send text messages at exact times designated by banks and make it into the first-come, first-served cutoff just to get a consultation opportunity.

[Resident A / Prospective Apartment Resident: You have to sit there ten minutes before, five minutes before, just staring at your phone. You have to press the send button at exactly 59 seconds so that it goes out right on the hour and makes it into the ranking.]

There are even instances where the desperate need for loans is being exploited to demand the purchase of insurance products.

[Loan Advisor B: If I can informally process the loan for you first, I will. I also handle insurance planning. I would appreciate it if you could sign up for an insurance product later.]

Some point out that while the government is pressuring the market to release properties and encourage relocations in Seoul through tax reforms, a complex situation has emerged where transactions are blocked due to loan regulations.

Amid growing controversy, the Financial Services Commission announced that it will release comprehensive measures this week, including plans to adjust household loan volume management targets.

(Camera reporting: Lim Woo-shik | Video editing: Park Na-young | Design: Seo Seung-hyun)