After the government unveiled a real estate tax overhaul plan, it is expected to begin full discussions on a comprehensive property package and supplementary measures for household loan regulations. The basic framework for managing household loans, including loan-to-value (LTV) and debt service ratio (DSR) rules, is to be maintained. Still, it has been suggested that measures could ease funding burdens for end-users who signed contracts before the regulations took effect.

According to the financial sector on Tuesday, the government is reviewing follow-up adjustments in lending after announcing the 2026 tax overhaul plan on Sunday. The plan includes steps to adjust comprehensive real estate holding tax and capital gains tax burdens for non-residential homes and homes above certain price levels.

In the lending area, selective adjustments are expected rather than across-the-board easing, maintaining the stance on managing household debt while easing funding difficulties for end-users.

Financial authorities are said to be considering excluding some balance loans for existing presale contract holders from banks' household lending caps. At the same time, weight is shifting toward tightening jeonse loan rules, including restricting jeonse loans for non-resident single-home owners and lowering guarantee ratios for such loans.

If the tax overhaul focuses on adjusting tax burdens on non-residential homes and high-priced homes, the loan package is expected to focus on reducing disruptions to move-ins for end-users who have already signed presale contracts. It would normalise balance loans for newly built homes without broadly easing loan regulations for home purchases overall.

Balance loans could become an exception to banks' lending caps

Financial authorities are expected to check the status of syndicated loans with major banks and discuss measures to supply balance loans. For now, a leading option under review is to fully or partially exclude balance loans for complexes whose tenant 모집 notice was issued before last year's June 27 property measures from total volume management.

Buyers drew up funding plans based on loan conditions in place at the time of presale contracts, but cases have emerged in which they cannot obtain balance loans ahead of move-in as banks tightened their total lending caps.

Authorities are also looking at a plan to prioritise balance-loan demand for projects with imminent move-ins, then determine the scope of application after watching the actual trend in household loan growth.

Commercial banks have recently raised, or are considering raising, balance-loan limits for expected move-ins at the Mae-gyo Station Pallasid complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, which has drawn attention in recent days.

For some complexes with large loan volumes, another option being discussed is to apply separate management criteria because household lending could jump during the conversion to balance loans.

Even if balance-loan supply expands, the basic framework of loan regulations is unlikely to change. Financial authorities are said not to be considering easing LTV and DSR rules or raising the banking sector's annual household loan growth target. The government has set a policy to keep this year's household loan growth within 1.5 percent.

The view is that broadly loosening even home-purchase loans beyond balance loans could cause household debt to rise again and stimulate demand for home buying. That would separate measures to resolve funding difficulties for existing contract holders from easing loan regulations for new home purchases.

Authorities are also discussing measures for end-users beyond balance loans, including easing some regulations on relocation loans for members of reconstruction and redevelopment associations. Options being discussed include using newly built homes, rather than existing homes, as collateral to expand funding capacity while maintaining the basic LTV framework.

Jeonse loans for non-resident single-home owners likely to be restricted

Jeonse loans are likely to face tighter regulations, moving in the opposite direction to balance loans. Measures under discussion include lowering the jeonse loan limit for non-resident single-home owners further from the current 200 million won or halting such loans, and cutting the Seoul metropolitan area's jeonse loan guarantee ratio below the current 80 percent.

If the guarantee ratio falls, banks would face greater loss risk if jeonse loans go bad. As banks tighten screening and limit management for such loans, the actual scale of loan supply could shrink.

Still, restricting even single-home owners who live in a different region from their own home due to job transfers, children's education or caring for parents could hurt end-users. If jeonse loans for non-resident single-home owners are restricted, exception criteria distinguishing investment purposes from unavoidable relocations are also expected to become a key issue.

If the measures under review are finalised, balance loans are likely to be supplied in a limited manner by considering contract timing and the need to move in, while jeonse loans for non-resident single-home owners would be handled based on a review of the reason for residence.

A banking sector official said, "Demand for balance loans for large-scale complexes could have been forecast well ahead of the move-in date, so it seems necessary to fine-tune policy and loan supply plans in advance." The official added, "If loan rules change frequently or exception standards become complicated, consumers and bank staff will inevitably face confusion."

The official added, "The very fact that the total volume system for loan regulations and loan amount caps are implemented together failed to sufficiently consider judgments about end-users." The official said, "Once the government announces measures, confusion will be inevitable for both bank branches and consumers, so a sufficient preparation period and clear standards need to be 마련."