Down 36.2% year on year; nationwide apartment construction down 17%

Nationwide sales performance of 24,214 units, down 62.9% year on year

As of the end of March, unsold housing nationwide totaled 72,104 units, a decrease of 4.4% (3,334 units) from the previous month. Unsold units completed after construction numbered 8,650, up 1.1% (96 units) from the previous month. The Seoul metropolitan area recorded 11,034 units, down 12.0% from the previous month, while non-metropolitan regions recorded 61,070 units, down 2.9% from the previous month. Unsold units larger than 85㎡ numbered 8,609, down 2.7% from the previous month, while those of 85㎡ or smaller numbered 63,495, down 4.6% from the previous month.

Cumulative housing permits through March totaled 86,444 units nationwide, down 23.0% year on year. The Seoul metropolitan area recorded 30,253 units, down 29.6% year on year, while non-metropolitan regions recorded 56,191 units, down 19.0% year on year. Nationwide, apartments accounted for 74,473 units, down 17.0% year on year, while non-apartment housing accounted for 11,971 units, down 47.0% year on year.

Cumulative housing construction starts through March totaled 53,666 units nationwide, down 36.2% year on year. The Seoul metropolitan area recorded 30,869 units, down 39.1% year on year, while non-metropolitan regions recorded 22,797 units, down 31.9% year on year. Nationwide, apartments accounted for 43,416 units, down 31.5% year on year, while non-apartment housing accounted for 10,250 units, down 50.6% year on year.

Cumulative multi-family housing sales through March totaled 24,214 units nationwide, down 62.9% year on year. The Seoul metropolitan area recorded 14,650 units, down 61.4% year on year, while non-metropolitan regions recorded 9,564 units, down 64.9% year on year. General sales accounted for 17,285 units, down 66.4% year on year; rental housing accounted for 2,143 units, down 64.7% year on year; and union member allocations accounted for 4,786 units, down 38.4% year on year.

Cumulative housing completions through March totaled 81,217 units nationwide, up 3.4% year on year. The Seoul metropolitan area recorded 45,171 units, up 1.4% year on year, while non-metropolitan regions recorded 36,046 units, up 6.1% year on year. Nationwide, apartments accounted for 62,654 units, up 10.7% year on year, while non-apartment housing accounted for 18,563 units, down 15.4% year on year.

Housing sales transactions in March (based on reporting date) totaled 52,333 cases, up 27.0% from the previous month and down 2.1% from the same month a year earlier (March 2022). The cumulative total through March was 119,285 cases, down 13.8% year on year. The Seoul metropolitan area (22,722 cases) was up 31.8% from the previous month and up 13.0% year on year, while non-metropolitan regions (29,611 cases) were up 23.6% from the previous month and down 11.2% year on year. On a cumulative basis through March, the Seoul metropolitan area (50,261 cases) was down 4.2% year on year, and non-metropolitan regions (69,024 cases) were down 19.6%. Apartments (38,926 cases) were up 24.2% from the previous month and up 19.8% year on year, while non-apartments (13,407 cases) were up 36.1% from the previous month and down 36.1% year on year.

Cumulative apartment transactions through March (88,104 cases) were up 5.9% year on year, while non-apartment transactions (31,181 cases) were down 43.5%. Combining data from the lease reporting system and data from confirmed-date filings, jeonse and monthly-rent transactions in March (based on reporting date) totaled 264,220 cases, down 3.3% from the previous month and up 5.7% year on year. The cumulative total through March was 752,132 cases, up 8.1% year on year. The Seoul metropolitan area (178,695 cases) was up 0.5% from the previous month and up 3.4% year on year, while non-metropolitan regions (85,525 cases) were down 10.2% from the previous month and up 10.6% year on year. Apartments (128,068 cases) were down 1.5% from the previous month and up 10.9% year on year, while non-apartments (136,152 cases) were down 4.9% from the previous month and up 1.2% year on year.

Jeonse transactions (120,516 cases) were down 0.3% from the previous month and down 4.5% year on year. Monthly-rent transactions (143,704 cases, including deposit-based monthly rent, semi-jeonse, and similar arrangements) were down 5.6% from the previous month and up 16.0% year on year. On a cumulative basis through March, monthly-rent transactions accounted for 54.9% of the total, up 6.9 percentage points from the same month a year earlier (48.0%).

Detailed data on housing sales transactions and jeonse/monthly-rent transactions can be found at the Korea Real Estate Board's Real Estate Statistics Information System (sales transactions) (www.reb.or.kr/r-one, real estate information app) or at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure website (rt.molit.go.kr).