[Economy 365]

As housing prices continue to rise in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions, consumers' expectations for housing price increases have reached their highest level in 4 years and 10 months.

According to the Bank of Korea, the housing price outlook index for July stood at 127, up 7 points from a month earlier.

This is the highest level since September 2021, rising for four consecutive months after dropping to 96 in March.

When this index exceeds 100, it means that more consumers expect housing prices to rise a year from now than those who do not.

The composite consumer sentiment index also rose 0.2 points from the previous month to 106.8, improving for the third consecutive month.

Despite inflation pressures and falling stock prices, strong semiconductor exports and expectations of wage increases influenced the results.

The expected inflation rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to 2.7%, largely driven by falling domestic petroleum prices.

*This article was produced with AI audio.