March Nationwide 'Move-in Market' Deteriorates... Top Reason for Non-Move-in is 'Delayed Housing Sales'

HOSI Forecast and Actual Results Both Decline Compared to Previous Month
34% Non-Occupancy Due to 'Unsecured Balance Loan'
Nationwide Housing Market Outlook Also Shows Downward Trend

Source=Korea Housing Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Seoyul] Negative outlooks on the housing move-in market are expanding.

The Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRHIS) announced on the 22nd that both the forecast (72.8) and actual performance (72.7) of the nationwide Housing Occupancy Sentiment Index (HOSI) for March declined compared to the previous month. Last month's forecast and actual performance were 76.9 and 77.3, respectively.

HOSI is an index that comprehensively assesses the move-in conditions of apartment complexes that are about to be occupied or are currently being occupied, as judged by housing suppliers. A value above the baseline of 100 indicates favorable move-in conditions, while a value below suggests deterioration.

The move-in market is expected to contract nationwide. In the metropolitan area, the index dropped by 2.7 points to 74.1 compared to the previous month, while the provincial metropolitan cities (69.4) and provincial areas (74.9) also fell by 4.0 points and 4.6 points, respectively.

By region, except for ▲Chungnam (92.3), ▲Jeonnam (81.2), and ▲Sejong (80.0), most areas showed forecasts below the 80 mark. In particular, ▲Jeju (68.7), ▲Ulsan (66.6), ▲Daegu (64.0), and ▲Gwangju (61.1) did not reach the 70 mark. Seoul recorded 76.9, down 3.6 points from the previous month.

The nationwide occupancy rate in February was 83.1%, down 2 percentage points from the previous month. The metropolitan area recorded 89.0%, while the provinces including metropolitan cities and provincial areas recorded 81.9%. The highest reason for non-occupancy was delays in selling existing homes (35.8%). This was followed by failure to secure final payment loans (34.0%), failure to secure tenants (20.8%), and delays in selling pre-sale rights (7.5%).

Meanwhile, KRHIS stated that the planned move-in volume for March was temporarily excluded from the survey this month because the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport did not release statistical data.

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