Construction permits issued for new homes sharply dropped from a year earlier last month, the government said Sunday, amid its move to limit the supply of new homes as a way of curbing household debt.

New home construction permits came to 52,438 in October, down 18.3 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Home construction permits issued in Seoul have been more than halved to 4,610 from 11,408 over the cited period, while permits issued in the entire capital region, which include the western port city of Incheon and surrounding Gyeonggi Province, plunged 38.1 percent on-year to 21,145.

Construction permits issued in the rest of the country grew 4.2 percent to 31,293, according to the ministry.

Such a sharp drop in Seoul and its surrounding areas came as the government announced in August that it will cut down on the supply of new apartments over the coming years as a way of limiting the rise in household debts.

The country's overall household borrowing came to 1,295.8 trillion won ($1.1 trillion) as of end-September, spiking 11.2 percent from a year earlier and reaching a new all-time high, according to the Bank of Korea.

October marked the fourth consecutive month of drop in new home permits.

The number of groundbreakings for new homes also dropped at a fast clip of 44.1 percent on-year to 55,236 in October.

Groundbreakings in the Seoul metropolitan area plunged 49.1 percent to 28,922, while those in rural areas dropped 37.2 percent to 26,314, the ministry said in a press release. (Yonhap)