Can a luxury home loan be fully shifted to a fourth property to get a lower ratio?

The Central Bank has gradually tightened the loan-to-value cap on high-priced housing: 60% in December 2010; in March 2021 it was lowered to 55% (5.5 tenths, for those who already have mortgages on 2 or fewer properties) and 40% (for those who already have mortgages on 3 or more properties); 40% in December 2021; and 30% in September 2024. In the adjustment effective September 20, 2024, the ratios for corporate-entity housing loans, natural-person loans for high-priced housing, and home loans for a third (or more) property were all lowered from 40% to 30%. In the comparison table of amendments effective March 20, 2026, these three categories remain at 30% with no grace period.

As for shifting a loan to another property, the Central Bank's amended Q&A of March 19, 2021 already has corresponding provisions. If a natural person takes additional borrowing on an existing mortgage, or pledges other real estate to obtain a new loan, the loan is subject to the same controls as long as the funds are used to buy high-priced housing and the application is made against that housing; the new or additional borrowing, added to the loan amount for buying the high-priced housing, may not exceed the prescribed ratio. When a person who already has mortgages on 2 or more properties applies for a loan against another property (including its land), the financial institution should verify the purpose of the loan; if the purpose is buying housing, the controls apply, and the borrower must sign a statement of the use of funds when consenting to the loan application, which is checked afterward.

The Q&A also limits what banks may do: they may not issue loans for buying high-priced housing under the label of renovation, working capital, or other loan purposes; they may not reclassify a mortgage with the original fund-use code "1" in the Joint Credit Information Center (JCIC) records as use code "4"; and they may not add collateral to increase the loan amount. The exception is when a borrower takes a loan from a financial institution pledging his or her own time deposit certificate and uses the funds to buy that housing; this is not considered increasing the loan amount under another loan purpose. If a financial institution violates the rules, the competent authority will impose penalties under provisions including Articles 130 and 134 of the Banking Act.

There are also rules on how the number of properties is counted: the number of mortgaged properties under a person's name is looked up by the financial institution through the JCIC by person, and the count covers secured loans with the property as collateral and fund-use code "1", with 1 piece of collateral counting as 1 property. If a person owns 2 or more properties but has no loans on any of them and the JCIC has no mortgage record, the rules for a third (or more) property do not apply to this home loan application. The 2021 Q&A still distinguishes between the third property and the fourth or more, while the current comparison table lists the third (or more) property at 30% across the board.

The Central Bank explained that high-priced housing is a niche market with high and volatile prices, low liquidity, and high credit risk, and that credit resources should be given first to those without a home of their own. The Central Bank also said that, according to actual-price registration (sold prices) statistics, over the past five years the number of sales nationwide meeting the high-priced housing criteria has accounted for less than 2% of all housing sales.