South Korea witnessed a sharp drop in housing transactions last month.

According to data by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Sunday, the number of the country's housing transactions came to 90-thousand-679 in January, down 35-point-four percent from a month earlier.

By region, housing deals in the greater metro area fell 25-point-four percent on-month to 47-thousand-132, while those in other parts of the nation plunged 43-point-five percent.

Apartment transactions slipped 39-point-three percent, while the transaction of other types of homes fell 23-point-two percent on-month.

Transactions of "jeonse" and monthly rental homes also dropped by two percent, each, on-month in January. Jeonse is a rental method unique to Korea in which tenants pay a lump-sum deposit to the building owners rather than monthly rent.

Industry experts said people appeared to have taken a wait-and-see approach last month ahead of the government's property measures unveiled early this month.