President Lee Jae Myung has said the country’s limited investment options have led to housing instability because housing has become a tool for investment or speculation.

The president made the remarks Tuesday at a Cabinet meeting, saying there has been some confusion recently over housing and real estate issues.

Lee added that fortunately, the recent normalization of the stock and financial markets is helping them gradually emerge as alternative investment options, emphasizing the need to maintain this positive trend.

His remarks imply that the recent surge in housing prices in Seoul stems from surplus capital flowing into real estate amid limited investment alternatives, and that a fundamental solution would be to redirect this flow into the stock market.

On Friday, financial authorities introduced ultratight lending restrictions, imposing a 600 million won ceiling on mortgage loans for home purchases in Seoul and other regulated zones, which went into effect the next day. 

That’s about 443-thousand U.S. dollars. 

The presidential office is closely monitoring the effects of the new rule, the first major real estate measure under the Lee administration.