Speaking at a press briefing held in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Sept. 30, Lee said, "Because a time lag in housing supply is inevitable, now is the time when lending regulation is needed."
Under current rules, the mortgage cap for home purchases in the greater Seoul area and regulated zones is 600 million won for homes valued at 1.5 billion won or less. First-time buyers can borrow up to a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 70%. "People are said to be competitively buying homes by borrowing the full 600 million won up to the 70% LTV," Lee said, stressing that it is "bad for the community."
Lee also said that in-house loans offered by companies such as Samsung Electronics "should be regulated if possible." He said LH's own in-house lending program also exceeds government guidelines, and that the company would discuss bringing it in line with the standards in consultation with its union. Lee drew a line, however, saying there had been no discussions with the Financial Services Commission or the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the ministries overseeing lending regulations.
Meanwhile, data from the Korea Real Estate Board showed that weekly apartment prices in Seoul rose for an 86th consecutive week in the fourth week of September, surpassing the longest streak recorded under the Moon Jae-in administration.
