South Korea tightens rules on housing market to restrain buying frenzy in some cities

South Korea on Monday said it will tighten loan limits for home buyers to 60 percent of property value from the current 70 percent in regions showing signs of overheating including Seoul, the finance ministry and financial regulator said in a statement.

Debt repayments will be limited to 50 percent of home buyers' annual income in those selected regions, down from current 60 percent, it said.

The new measures will be effective from July 3.

The government will also restrict the resale of newly built apartments in Seoul, some parts of Busan as well as in Sejong until registration of property ownership is complete, to cool speculative investments in those regions, it said.