South Korea’s home transactions rose significantly from a year earlier in September, the government said Tuesday, apparently due to the latest government measures to revamp the country’s property market.

The total number of home transactions spiked 51.9 percent on-year to 86,186 last month, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The figure marked the second-highest monthly sales of homes this year since 92,691 homes exchanged hands in April, the ministry added.

Home transactions in the capital area, including Gyeonggi Province, jumped 59.5 percent on-year to 42,684 with home transactions in the capital Seoul alone spiking 72 percent to 13,946.

Such a large increase, especially in Seoul, apparently follows the government’s latest stimulus measures, announced at the beginning of last month, which cut the minimum age of housing units subject to reconstruction by up to 10 years, making old houses in the densely populated Seoul more attractive to investors. (Yonhap)