Land prices in S. Korea drop in Nov.

SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- Land prices in South Korea declined in November from the previous month with land transactions also falling to the lowest level in nearly eight years, a government report said Friday.

The average land price across the nation dropped 1.44 percent in November from a
month earlier, marking the first monthly drop since the fourth quarter of 2000,
according to the report released by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime
Affairs.
South Korea has been keeping track of land prices on a monthly basis since 2005.
Until 2004, land prices were monitored on a quarterly basis.
Land prices in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province fell 2.72 percent and 1.33 percent
last month, respectively, leading the across-the-board decline, the report said.
Land transactions nationwide fell 38.4 percent in November from a year ago,
marking the lowest level since February 2001. Compared with the previous month,
land transactions dropped 22.3 percent.
In addition to falling land prices, South Korea's housing market has been mired
in a slump amid a deepening economic downturn.
Housing construction nationwide dropped in October as cash-strapped builders
scaled back on construction projects, the ministry said Wednesday.