Housing construction drops in Oct.

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- Housing construction in South Korea dropped in October
as cash-strapped builders scaled back on construction projects amid a deepening
economic slump, the construction ministry said Wednesday.
A total of 21,746 homes were built across the nation in October, a 79-percent
drop from a year earlier, according to the ministry.
Housing construction also sank 66 percent in September and 54 percent in August
from a year earlier.
In the first 10 months of the year, 217,631 homes were built, a 43 percent fall
from a year earlier.
The data comes amid concerns that the accelerating economic slump could further
sap demand for new homes, dragging down housing prices.
South Korean housing prices fell 0.1 percent on-month in October, the first
monthly fall in nearly four years, as demand for housing remained extremely weak
amid the economic slowdown and financial turmoil, according to Kookmin Bank.
South Korea's economic growth slowed to 0.5 percent in the third quarter, its
weakest pace since 2004 as exports fell to their lowest in seven years and
consumer spending stagnated.
Local builders are reeling under the largest backlog of unsold homes in a decade
and have already suffered serious liquidity problems.
In October, the government announced it will spend as much as 8 trillion won
(US$6.06 billion) to buy land and unsold homes from builders and ease regulations
on the real estate market.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)