Sung-Hoon Lee, LH President: "Loan Regulations Needed for Housing Price Stability... Housing Supply Inevitably Lags"

"Loan regulations necessary due to supply time lags
First-time buyer benefits fuel competitive home purchases
Sharp rise in housing prices not good for the community"

Sung-Hoon Lee, President of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), stated, "There is inevitably a time lag in the government's housing supply," adding, "We must maintain stable housing prices through loan regulations."

President Lee made these remarks on September 30 at a press conference held by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport near the Gyeonggi Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex, in response to a question about measures for stabilizing housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Seonghun Lee, President of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH). The Asia Business Daily Database

President Lee emphasized that since government-led housing supply takes time, maintaining the current level of loan regulations is necessary for the immediate stabilization of housing prices. He explained, "Unprecedented volumes of new housing will be launched in upcoming new towns in the future," but noted, "Considering the design and construction periods, there will inevitably be time lags, so now is the time when loan regulations are needed."

He also pointed out that excessive loan limits drive up housing prices. He said, "Currently, first-time home buyers can borrow up to 70% LTV on mortgage loans, which allows buyers to take out the maximum loan amount and compete to purchase homes," and added, "If this drives housing prices up, it will not be beneficial for our community."

Regarding criticism that strict loan regulations act as an obstacle for upward housing mobility, Lee commented, "If housing prices continue to surge and the 600 million won loan cap is maintained for homes priced at 1.5 billion won or under, more people will feel burdened," and went on, "We need to consider what best serves the interests of our society and community." He added, "I believe that loan regulations can help prevent sharp price spikes or plunges in housing prices."

In response to the opinion that the recently announced government Housing Stability Plan is overly focused on supplying rental housing, Lee said, "In the next three years, our plan is to offer up to 100,000 new homes for sale in just the three new towns," and added, "In the long run, we aim to pursue universal rental models, but in order to sufficiently meet home buying demand, we plan to offer a significant volume for sale." Regarding the goal to commence construction on 50,000 units within this year, he explained, "Many of these units are in the approval process, and we expect to achieve our target by year-end."

Regarding concerns about achieving construction targets due to the separation of LH into subsidiaries, Lee replied, "We are consulting with the government to ensure that employees benefit from the separation in terms of work conditions and other interests," and added, "Discussions are ongoing about reinforcing manpower, organizational structure, and budget, with an announcement from the government expected soon."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.