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Home Mortgage 'Open Run': Borrowers Queue Up at Dawn as Quotas Shrink

Kim Hye-min

Published : Aug 11, 2026 10:46 PM

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These days, securing a mortgage depends less on your income or credit score and more on how fast you can apply. Because banks process applications on a first-come, first-served basis, daily limits are exhausted almost instantly, even for those who try to apply at the crack of dawn. Although it is still August, banks are rapidly approaching their annual lending caps, raising the borrowing barrier even higher for everyday citizens.

Reporter Kim Hye-min has the details.

I tried applying for a mortgage through the internet-only bank KakaoBank myself.

Even on a weekday morning, a message pops up stating that "loan applications are unavailable because the daily application limit has been exceeded."

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

Online, it is easy to find everything from posts complaining about failing the "open run" to others sharing success tips.

These open runs for loans at internet-only banks are driven by the higher borrowing barriers recently erected by major commercial banks.

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

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

This has put buyers who have already completed sales contracts, as well as upcoming residents in need of balance loans, in a state of extreme urgency.

At an upcoming apartment complex in Seoul, prospective residents must send a text message at a time 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 staring at your phone 10 minutes and 5 minutes before. You have to press it right at the 59-second mark so that it goes off on the exact hour and you can make it into the cutoff rank.]

Some are even exploiting desperate financial situations to demand that borrowers sign up for insurance products.

[Loan Counselor B / Bank loan counselor: If I can unofficially push this loan through for you first, I will. I also handle insurance planning on the side. I would appreciate it if you could sign up for a financial product later on.]

Critics point out that while the government is pressuring the market to release properties and relocate in Seoul through tax reform proposals, a complex situation has emerged where transactions are actually blocked due to loan regulations.

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

(Photo: Lim Woo-shik | Video Editing: Park Na-young, Design: Seo Seung-hyun)

※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.