Housing Permits in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Increase by 20%... Occupancy Decreases by 14%

From January to September this year, housing permits in the Seoul metropolitan area increased by more than 20% compared to the same period last year. However, there are concerns that the short-term supply-demand imbalance may worsen as move-in performance is declining.

According to the nationwide housing construction performance data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 2nd, the cumulative housing permit performance nationwide until September this year totaled 358,990 units, a 22.5% increase compared to the same period last year (229,980 units).

The Seoul metropolitan area recorded 183,869 units, a 21.3% increase compared to the same period last year, while other regions recorded 175,121 units, also increasing by 23.9%.

By type, nationwide apartments totaled 268,590 units, a 26.0% increase compared to the same period last year, while non-apartment housing increased by 13.2% to 90,400 units.

Looking at September alone, housing permits in the Seoul metropolitan area were 20,805 units, a 30.3% increase compared to one year ago (15,972 units).

Annual Cumulative Permit Performance Trend as of September (Data provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

Construction starts also increased. The cumulative housing construction start performance until September nationwide was 397,657 units, a 13.1% increase compared to the same period last year (351,737 units).

The Seoul metropolitan area (198,423 units) increased by 7.9%, and other regions (199,234 units) increased by 18.7%. Nationwide apartments totaled 299,720 units, an 8.9% increase compared to the same period last year, while non-apartment housing rose sharply by 27.9% to 97,937 units.

The cumulative apartment sales performance until September nationwide was 235,534 units, a 1.0% increase compared to the same period last year (233,145 units).

However, the Seoul metropolitan area recorded 109,174 units, a decrease of 11.6%. Other regions led the increase with 126,360 units, up 15.3% compared to one year ago.

General sales (174,105 units) increased by 8.7%, while rental housing (33,450 units) surged by 51.2%. Sales to union members were 27,979 units, down 45.0% compared to last year.

Annual Cumulative Completion Performance Trend as of September (Data Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

Move-in (completion) performance, which shows short-term supply volume, generally showed a decline.

The cumulative housing completion performance until September nationwide was 274,121 units, a 24.6% decrease compared to the same period last year (363,610 units).

The Seoul metropolitan area (165,135 units) decreased by 14.2%, and other regions (108,986 units) decreased by 36.3%.

Nationwide apartments sharply dropped by 30.6% to 201,909 units, while non-apartment housing slightly decreased by 0.8% to 72,212 units.

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