SEOUL: Seoul's housing market, one of the most unaffordable in the world, has begun to show signs that its red-hot five-year boom could be running out of steam - just in time for the March presidential vote.
Recent data, however, has lent weight to the view that restrictions on loans, hikes in interest rates and pledges to massively boost the supply of homes by both presidential candidates have begun to have an effect. "Loan restrictions and higher borrowing costs began to really cool the market towards the end of last year and even serious buyers and sellers are waiting for policy changes so we're in for a quiet market for months to come," said Yeo Kyoung-hui, a property market analyst at Real Estate 114.A narrow majority, 51 per cent, of some 500 property market experts expect South Korean home prices to decline this year, according to a survey by the Korea Development Institute in January.