Home transactions tumble 24.5 pct in Feb.

SEJONG, March 26 (Yonhap) -- Home transactions in South Korea sank nearly 25 percent in February amid government measures to rein in rising prices, data showed Friday.

The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 87,021 last month, down 24.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The February reading was also down 4 percent from the previous month.

The number of home transactions in the Seoul metropolitan area, which includes the western port city of Incheon and all of Gyeonggi Province, amounted to 47,433 last month, down 28.6 percent from a year earlier.

But the figure was up 0.6 percent from the prior month. The region is home to about half of the country's 50 million people.

Home transactions came to 39,588 in the remaining parts of the country in February, down 18.9 percent from a year earlier and 9.1 percent from January.

The government has unveiled a series of measures to cool the hot property market, including plans to increase home supply, higher taxes and restrictions on mortgages and apartment leasing contracts.

Sky-high home prices have stoked public discontent with the Moon Jae-in government despite its desperate efforts to make homes more affordable, especially in the capital Seoul.

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