According to the ministry, Dongtan in Hwaseong, Giheung in Yongin, and Guri have been newly added to such zones, under which loans for buying homes there are limited, with homeowners required to reside in their properties for at least two years.
The measures are set to take effect on Wednesday and remain in place until the end of next year.
The ministry said prices in Dongtan, Giheung and nearby areas have risen sharply amid expectations of possible future profits, fueled by windfall bonuses paid to chip giant Samsung Electronics' employees amid an unprecedented semiconductor boom buoyed by artificial intelligence (AI)-led demand.
The areas' proximity to the chipmaker's headquarters and key production facilities in Suwon, as well as transportation infrastructure where Samsung commuters take shuttle buses, further heightened prices, leading apartment prices to climb rapidly in recent weeks as buyers rushed to secure homes amid expectations that prices could rise further.
Dongtan, in particular, has seen the steepest rise, with home prices climbing more than 11 percent so far this year. An 84-square-meter unit at an apartment complex there traded for a record high of 2.23 billion won (about US$1.5 million) earlier this month.
With the latest measures, the number of speculative zones in Gyeonggi Province has risen to 15, while the entire city of Seoul remains under such regulation.
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