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South Korea's household debt rose to a new record high in the third quarter this year,... mainly on home-backed loans.
And despite measures to cool down the housing market, more than ever, people expect that prices are going to keep rising.
Kim Jae-hee has the details.
South Korea's household debt rose to new record high in the third quarter this year, topping the record set just the quarter before.
The Bank of Korea reported Tuesday that the country's household debt in the three months from July to September which includes credit cards, mortgages and other loans rose 2-point-7 percent to more than 1-point-6-8 quadrillion Korean won or around 1-point-5-1 trillion U.S. dollars.
Mortgage loans saw their biggest quarterly rise since the fourth quarter of 2016, due to record-low borrowing costs.
For other kinds of loans, it was the biggest growth on record... partly because people were borrowing to pay their living expenses in the pandemic and to buy stocks in the crash.
"Other kinds of loans in the third quarter rose by more than 22 trillion won or around 20 billion dollars, which was the largest quarterly growth since records began in 2003. This was due to rise in demand for money to buy homes and stocks... as home transactions increased in the third quarter, and there was a rise in demand for living expenses in the pandemic."
Home prices have continued to rise despite the government's efforts to cool down the overheated market.
And a survey suggests that people expect them to keep going up.
The BOK's index measuring people's outlook on housing prices... soared eight points on month in November to 130.
If it's higher than 100, it means more people think prices will be higher a year from now.
130 is the highest the index has been since it was first compiled in January 2013.
Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.