Government: "Housing Starts This Year May Fall Somewhat Short of Target... Close Monitoring of Progress"

Original target set at 268,000 housing starts
"81% to 88% expected to be achieved by year-end"
Digital housing supply dashboard to be established this year

The government expects that it may fall short of nearly 20% of its target to supply 268,000 homes in the Seoul metropolitan area this year. While it has met most of its public-sector target, some private-sector redevelopment projects have not proceeded smoothly. The government plans to actively manage progress at individual project sites and urge developers to ensure that the remaining homes begin construction without delays.

On October 16, the government held its first regular housing supply briefing and outlined recent progress. In its long-term plans, including the September 7 measures announced last year, the government pledged to supply 1.5 million homes in the Seoul metropolitan area by 2030. Its target for this year is 268,000 homes, of which an estimated 218,000 to 235,000 could begin construction by the end of the year. This amounts to 81% to 88% of the original target.

Kim Itak, First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, outlines the progress of housing supply initiatives and plans for future supply at the first regular housing supply briefing, held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 16th. Yonhap News Agency

As of the second week of October, construction had begun on about 99,000 homes this year, or roughly 37% of the total target. By category, the government had achieved 26% of its public housing target, 31% of its new-build purchases target, and about 23.6% of the target for private-sector redevelopment projects. About 54.7% of homes in other categories, including privately built homes on public land, urban development projects, and local housing cooperatives, had begun construction.

By a simple calculation, about 130,000 homes would need to begin construction in the roughly two and a half months remaining in the year just to reach the 80% range. Given that fewer than 10,000 homes have begun construction per month on average this year, even the revised target remains ambitious. Kim Itak, First Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Because we set an ambitious target this year, a relatively large share of construction starts is concentrated toward the end of the year. We are working to spread the volume more evenly throughout the year going forward."

The government identified delays in private-sector reconstruction and redevelopment projects in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon as the main reason it may miss its original target. Jung Woo-jin, head of the Housing Supply Promotion Headquarters at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "The public sector is expected to achieve most of its original target. Among private-sector redevelopment projects, we expect to achieve around 31,000 homes in Seoul, but some projects in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon have been left out because of their low profitability."

A view of a reconstruction complex in Seoul. Yonhap News Agency

The planned number of homes for which applications will open in the fourth quarter is about 15,000. This includes 10,000 homes for public sale, including those in third-phase new towns, and about 5,000 public rental homes, including those in Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town. Through the third quarter, about 14,800 public-sale homes and 14,700 public rental homes had been offered this year.

Meanwhile, the government plans to hold regular briefings twice a month and establish a "Digital Housing Supply Dashboard" to make housing supply progress and information easier for the public to access. The initiative aims to improve the public's understanding of housing supply, as access to relevant information has been somewhat limited by its previously fragmented release. The dashboard will use the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's website to provide information on supply plans and results, policy updates, and sales and rental housing, as well as detailed project information displayed on a map. The government plans to build a dashboard-style platform and begin pilot operations within the year, then work to link and integrate all housing supply-related information.

Kim Yong-su, Second Vice Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said, "The Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plan to brief the public twice a month on the implementation of housing supply measures and key progress. The Integrated Housing Supply Support Center, which will combine the problem-solving centers established separately at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and financial authorities, will open soon and resolve difficulties on the ground more quickly."

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