Property regulations eased to boost housing market
By Kim Tae-gyu
The government will temporarily ease regulations on non-speculative demands for houses as the domestic real estate market continues to struggle in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
After consultations with associated ministries, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) said Sunday that it will allow financial firms to ease the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) regulations until next March.
As a result, banks will be able to provide mortgages to those who own no or one home without regard to their annual income during the following seven months. Instead, single-home owners who purchase a new house should sell off their previous houses within two years.
The transient rules will be applied to a home of which the value is less than 900 million won ($750,000). Folks living in property speculation zones of Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa in southern Seoul will not reap the benefits.
DTI measures what proportion of a homeowner’s monthly income is used to pay off debts. Under this rule, banks cannot urge households to spend more than 60 percent of their revenue to pay interest and the principal on mortgages.
The rates, which were introduced midway through last year to curb home price hikes, are set at 50 percent for houses in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province and 40 percent for the three speculation zones.
``Up until now, some households who want to buy a house to live in had trouble in purchasing one due to the strict DTI. In addition, transactions of apartments slumped severely to cause inconvenience for many,’’ MLTM official Seong Ho-cheol said.
``In this climate, we are cutting some red tape to meet the non-speculative demand and deal with such inconveniences. We don’t think such momentary steps applicable to only mid- to low-priced homes will lead to any property market bubbles.’’
Along the same line, the MLTM announced that it will leave the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio intact, which refers to a percentage of the outstanding debt on real estate to its market value.
LTV, one of the two outstanding regulations limiting the maximum mortgage borrowers can receive from banks along with DTI, is 60 percent with two exceptions _ 50 percent for Seoul and its vicinity and 40 percent for speculation zones.
Those who purchase houses for the first time will receive a maximum of 200 million won in loans from a 1-trillion won government fund at an annual interest rate of 5.2 percent, lower than the market norm.
There are also steps geared toward helping the flagging construction industry.
The amount of inexpensive apartments offered by state-run agencies will also be reduced and their supply to the market will be delayed while stronger participation of private firms in the scheme will be allowed.
Tax breaks for trades of multiple homeowners, which were supposed to finish at the end of this year, will be extended beyond next year.
무주택, 1주택자 DTI 규제 한시적 없앤다
정부는 침체된 부동산시장에 대한 대책으로 비투기성 주택수요에 대한 규제를 완화하기로 했다.
국토해양부와 기획재정부, 금융위원회, 행정안전부 등은 당정회의와 관계장관회의 등을 거쳐 이런 내용을 골자로 한 `실수요 주택거래 정상화와 서민·중산층 주거안정 지원 방안'을 마련해 29일 발표했다.
이 대책에 따르면 우선 실수요자가 투기지역이 아닌 곳에서 9억원 이하의 주택을 매입할 때 금융회사가 내년 3월 말까지 한시적으로 총부채상환비율(DTI)를 자율 심사해 결정하도록 했다.
이에 따라 무주택자나 1가구 1주택자가 서울 서초.강남.송파 등 강남3구를 제외한 비투기지역의 9억원 이하 주택을 구입하는 경우 내년 3월 말까지 DTI 규제가 폐지된다.
보금자리주택은 예정대로 공급하되 사전예약 물량이 축소되고 시기도 약간 늦춰지며 보금자리주택지구 내 민영주택 공급 비율(현행 25%)도 상향조정된다.
또 다주택자 양도세 중과 완화 및 취·등록세 감면 시한도 각각 2년, 1년 연장하는 방안이 추진된다.