Real Estate Agencies Opened in July Hit Lowest Level in Over 3 Years

The lowest since September 2019 (994 cases) on a monthly basis
Continued decline in house prices and transactions... Selling and buying sentiment frozen

A cluster of real estate agencies in a shopping district in Seoul [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Noh Kyung-jo] Last month, the number of newly opened real estate brokerage offices nationwide recorded the lowest monthly figure in over three years.

According to the Korea Association of Realtors on the 22nd, in July this year, there were 1,074 new openings, 935 closures, and 78 temporary closures of certified real estate agents nationwide.

Among these, the number of new openings was the lowest since September 2019 (994 cases), when transactions decreased due to various government real estate regulations. This is interpreted as a result of the real estate downturn caused by interest rate hikes and loan regulations, combined with the seasonal off-season.

Closures and temporary closures decreased compared to the previous month’s 1,148 and 81 cases respectively, but were the highest since January this year (974 and 85 cases). Regions where 'closures + temporary closures' exceeded new openings included nine areas: northern Seoul, Incheon, Sejong, Daegu, Daejeon, Chungnam, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, and Ulsan. In particular, northern Seoul, Sejong, and Daegu saw 'closures + temporary closures' surpass new openings for two consecutive months.

An association official said, "For brokerage offices, whether transactions occur is crucial, but both seller and buyer sentiments have frozen," adding, "If the government’s regulatory easing does not take effect, this situation is expected to continue for the time being."

According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the number of apartment sales nationwide in the first half of this year was 184,134, the lowest for the same period since statistics began in 2006.

Although the transaction reporting period is still ongoing, the number of transactions in July is also expected to be low. In Seoul alone, apartment transactions last month amounted to only 605 cases (based on Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza). So far, 122 transactions have been reported for August.

Housing prices have been falling for several weeks. According to the weekly apartment price trend announced by the Korea Real Estate Board for the third week of August (as of the 15th), nationwide apartment prices have declined for 15 consecutive weeks, and Seoul for 12 consecutive weeks. The week-on-week decline in Seoul apartment prices was 0.09%, the largest drop in 3 years and 5 months since the last week of March 2019 (-0.09%).

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