Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said on Thursday that the property market is stabilizing and housing prices are expected to pick up their downward pace in light of increased supply and rate hikes. 

The minister presented the projection in a meeting of economy-related ministers to examine the real estate market. 

Minister Hong said that the government will maintain its real estate policy under judgment that housing prices rose excessively and thus need a correction to some extent.

The minister said that in the fourth week of January, sales prices of apartments in the capital region stopped rising for the first time in two years and five months. 

He added sales prices of apartments in Seoul dropped zero-point-01 percent in the cited period, marking the first drop in 20 months. Hong said 54 out of 176 local municipalities nationwide posted drops. 

The minister partially attributed the stabilizing prices to the government's property policy announced on February 4 of last year, which included a plan to supply up to 836-thousand homes nationwide.