South Korea policy mortgage rates rise to 5.00% in November 2026

The state housing finance lender lifted its Bogeumjari mortgage by 0.10 percentage point to a 5.00% to 5.30% range, the sixth increase this year.

The facts

• The Korea Housing Finance Corporation raised the rate on its Bogeumjari policy mortgage by 0.10 percentage point, from a 4.90% to 5.20% range to a 5.00% to 5.30% range.
• The range runs by maturity, from 5.00% on a ten-year loan to 5.30% on a fifty-year loan.
• The new rates apply to applications filed from the 9th; applications completed by the 8th keep the previous rate.
• It is the sixth increase this year.
• Eligible borrowers, including low-income young adults and newlywed households, can get up to 1.0 percentage point off, which takes the range to 4.00% to 4.30%.

What it means for your money

• The cheapest state-backed route into Korean housing now starts above 5%. The same income supports a smaller loan than it did last month.
• Financing cost is rising against a flat rental base: Glopra's South Korea data puts city-centre apartment asking rent at USD 11.88 per square metre a month, so a ten-year loan at 5.00% leaves a thinner margin over that rent than the 4.90% it replaced.
• The discount tiers are the one place the direction reverses, because a borrower who qualifies for the full 1.0 percentage point still finances at 4.00%, below where the undiscounted rate stood before this increase.

What to watch

• The cut-off is the 8th, so an application completed before then is priced at the old range.
• Whether the policy rate keeps moving after being held through part of the autumn; this is the sixth step of the year.
• The policy mortgage is one lender's product and not the market rate on commercial bank mortgages.

Sources: Seoul Economic Daily https://en.sedaily.com/finance/2026/11/02/korea-policy-mortgage-rates-top-5-percent-after-sixth-hike; Aju Business Daily https://www.ajunews.com/view/20261102164854180

Market data: Seoul · South Korea