Housing Move-Ins Fall Below 100,000 in First Five Months, Lowest Since Records Began [Real Estate AtoZ]

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Releases May Housing Statistics

Permits, Starts, and Pre-sales Down From Previous Month

Seoul Transactions Rise, Monthly Rent Share Reaches 69%

Greater Seoul Area's Hard-to-Sell Unsold Ho

As of May this year, the number of completed (move-in ready) housing units nationwide dropped to the 80,000-unit range, marking the first time since statistics began in 2011 that the figure has fallen below 100,000 units. While buying demand remains strong, especially centered in Seoul, the decline in move-in ready supply is becoming a supply-side concern.

A construction site in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to housing statistics for May released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on June 30, the cumulative number of housing units completed nationwide from January to May was 88,143, down 46.7% from the same period last year. Of these, completed apartments accounted for 76,695 units, a 50.1% drop year-on-year.

This is the first time since 2011, when related statistics began, that the cumulative number of completed housing units for January through May has fallen below 100,000. Compared to the housing boom in 2018 (248,165 units), the current figure is about one-third. The previous record low was 109,465 units in 2011, and the number had consistently remained above 100,000 units since then.

In the Seoul metropolitan area, where the population is concentrated, completed supply amounted to 42,393 units, a 46.3% decrease from a year earlier. Looking solely at apartments, the figure was 30,750 units, down 49.8%. In Seoul itself, the number was 13,111 units, down 41.6%, with apartments accounting for 10,410 units, a 46.2% decrease.

The decline in move-in ready units was significant even when looking only at May. Last month, 12,913 housing units were completed nationwide, down 51% from 26,357 units in May last year. Completed apartments totaled 10,952 units, a 55.0% decrease year-on-year.

National Housing Construction Performance. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

In the Seoul metropolitan area, the number of completions was 5,309 units, down 66.9% from a year earlier. For apartments alone, completions stood at 4,435 units, a 70.7% decrease. In Seoul, 1,914 housing units were completed, down 42.9%, and among these, completed apartments totaled 1,413 units, a 53.3% decrease.

All leading indicators of housing supply have also declined. In May, nationwide housing building permits totaled 19,323 units, a 33.9% decrease from the previous month. The number of housing starts (22,717 units) and pre-sale units (14,731 units) also fell by 14.4% and 57.2%, respectively, from April.

However, on a cumulative basis this year, both housing starts and pre-sales were higher than last year. From January to May, housing starts amounted to 94,367 units, up 27% year-on-year, while pre-sales reached 86,348 units, a 63% increase. In contrast, building permits totaled 98,694 units, a 10.6% decrease year-on-year.

National Housing Transaction Status. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Transactions were concentrated in Seoul apartments. In May, the number of nationwide housing sales transactions was 66,490, a 4.7% decrease from the previous month, but in Seoul, transactions rose by 11% to 14,145. Compared to May last year, both nationwide and Seoul saw increases of 6% and 30.2%, respectively. The total number of transactions in the Seoul metropolitan area was 38,477, up 0.02% from the previous month and 18.9% year-on-year.

The pace of conversion to monthly rental contracts in the lease market is accelerating. In May, total nationwide lease transactions (including both jeonse and monthly rent) dropped by 10.5% from the previous month to 209,754. Jeonse transactions amounted to 65,698, a 29.6% decrease from last year, while monthly rent transactions totaled 144,056, down 9.6%. The decrease in jeonse was greater than that of monthly rent.

As of the cumulative total for May this year, the proportion of monthly rent transactions nationwide was 68.6%, up 7.6 percentage points from the same period last year. The proportion was 69.9% in Seoul and 71.2% in non-metropolitan areas. For non-apartment properties, the nationwide monthly rent ratio rose to 80.9%.

Nationwide Unsold Housing Status. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

There was little change in unsold inventory. As of the end of May, the number of unsold housing units nationwide was 65,239, up 0.1% (60 units) from the previous month. Among these, so-called "problematic unsold units" (those unsold after completion) totaled 29,350, down 0.5% (154 units) from April, remaining below the 30,000-unit mark. However, in the Seoul metropolitan area, unsold completed units rose by 11.3% in a month to 4,828 units.

By size, large units over 85 square meters accounted for 12,687 of the nationwide unsold inventory, a 7.6% increase from the previous month. Over the same period, unsold units of 85 square meters or less decreased by 1.6%. In the Seoul metropolitan area, unsold housing units reached 18,601, up 7.5%, while the non-metropolitan total fell by 2.6% to 46,638 units.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.