Overseas Real Estate Purchases Decline on Subprime Woes

South Koreans' purchase of overseas real estate has continued to decrease over the past few months on growing concerns about the state of the global economy. The U.S. economy has become stagnant since the middle of last year when the housing market plunged as a result of subprime mortgage defaults.The sluggish U.S. housing market has dampened investors' sentiment here as the country is the most popular destination for overseas property investment by local individuals and businesses.According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance Wednesday, local residents purchased homes and other properties in foreign countries worth $45 million last month, down from $52 million a month earlier. The number of transactions totaled 147 in February, compared with 123 in January, and the average property transaction was worth $300,000, down from $420,000.
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