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 nationwide number of completed (move-in-ready) housing units dropped to the 80,000 range, marking the first time since statistics began in 2011 that the figure has fallen below 100,000 units. Analysts suggest that the housing supply drought, which has persisted since last year, has reached a critical point likely to spur home prices.

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

According to May housing statistics released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on June 30, the total number of completed homes nationwide from January to May this year stood at 88,143 units, reflecting a 46.7% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Of these, completed apartment units accounted for 76,695, representing a drop of 50.1% year-on-year. This is the first time the cumulative number of completed housing units from January to May has fallen below 100,000 since records began in 2011. For comparison, in the boom year of 2018, the figure was 248,165 units—about three times higher. The previous record low was 109,465 units in 2011.

In particular, the number of completed homes in the Seoul metropolitan area, where population is most concentrated, totalled 42,393 units, down 46.3% from a year earlier. Completed apartment units declined by 49.8% to 30,750 units. In Seoul city, completions fell by 41.6% to 13,111 units, while apartments saw a 46.2% drop to 10,410 units.

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

Experts say that the collapse of this year’s new move-in supply below 100,000 homes should be interpreted as a clear signal of persistently shrinking supply. Park Won-gap, Chief Real Estate Expert at KB Kookmin Bank, commented, "The ongoing supply drought since last year has now escalated to a stage where it is directly impacting housing prices," adding, "This year's move-in statistics demonstrate that the cumulative effects of supply shortages are becoming visible."

However, the sharp decline in move-in numbers is unlikely to trigger a steep rise in home prices in the second half of the year. Park predicted, "There are variables ahead such as the possibility of two interest rate hikes and tax reforms in the second half, which will likely prevent home prices from rising as much as they did in the first half."

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

All leading indicators for housing supply declined across the board. In May, national housing permits issued fell by 33.9% from the previous month to 19,323 units. Housing starts (22,717 units) and pre-sales (14,731 units) also declined by 14.4% and 57.2%, respectively, from the previous month. For the January-May period, starts reached 94,367 units, a 27% decrease year-on-year, while pre-sales rose by 63% to 86,348 units. Permits for the same period fell by 10.6% to 98,694 units.

The pace of transition from jeonse (lump-sum lease) to monthly rent is accelerating in the rental market. In May, total nationwide jeonse and monthly rental transactions reached 209,754, down 10.5% from the previous month. Jeonse transactions totalled 65,698, a 29.6% year-on-year decrease, while monthly rentals fell 9.6% to 144,056 transactions.

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

The number of unsold homes remained largely unchanged. As of the end of May, there were 65,239 unsold homes nationwide, a marginal increase of 0.1% (60 units) from the previous month. Of these, the so-called 'hard-to-sell unsold homes'—units left unsold even after completion—totalled 29,350, a decrease of 0.5% (154 units) from the previous month, keeping the figure below 30,000. However, in the Seoul metropolitan area, post-completion unsold inventory rose by 11.3% in a month to 4,828 units.

By size, large units (over 85 square meters) made up 12,687 of nationwide unsold homes—a 7.6% increase from the previous month. In the same period, unsold small to medium-sized units (85 square meters or less) declined by 1.6%. Metropolitan area unsold units increased by 7.5% to 18,601, while unsold units outside the metropolitan area fell by 2.6% to 46,638.

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