Seoul Housing Monthly Rent Share Reaches 51.0% Until May This Year... Highest Ever Recorded

7 out of 10 Cases Are Monthly Rent
Single-Family and Multi-Family Monthly Rent Share 72.6% from January to May This Year

Until May of this year, the volume of monthly rent transactions for housing in Seoul (detached houses, multi-family houses, multi-unit houses, row houses, and apartments) surpassed that of jeonse (long-term lease) transactions. The proportion of monthly rent was particularly high for detached/multi-family houses and multi-unit/row houses, which are considered to have higher risks of jeonse fraud and "empty shell" houses, leading to increased demand for monthly rent.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 21st, Economic Man Lab, a real estate information provider, reviewed the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza and found that from January to May this year, the total number of jeonse and monthly rent transactions for housing in Seoul was 229,788. Jeonse transactions accounted for 112,612, while monthly rent transactions were 117,176, making the monthly rent proportion 51.0%. This is the first time since related statistics began to be compiled in 2011 (January to May basis) that the share of monthly rent in Seoul's housing lease market has exceeded 50%.

The proportion of monthly rent in Seoul housing (January to May basis) rose from 30.4% in 2011 to 45.7% in 2016, then dropped to 39.7% in 2018 and continued to decline until 2020. However, it increased to 41.5% in 2021 when jeonse prices began to soar, and surged to 49.0% in 2022 during the period of interest rate hikes.

In particular, the monthly rent proportion for detached/multi-family houses and multi-unit/row houses in Seoul reached record highs. From January to May this year, the total number of jeonse and monthly rent transactions for detached/multi-family houses was 63,009. Among these, jeonse transactions were 17,237, and monthly rent transactions were 45,772, making the monthly rent proportion 72.6%.

During the same period, the total number of jeonse and monthly rent transactions for multi-unit/row houses was 51,776, with jeonse and monthly rent transactions at 27,835 and 23,941 respectively, resulting in a monthly rent proportion of 46.2%. This is the highest since statistics began to be compiled.

On the other hand, the monthly rent proportion for apartments recorded a record high of 41.6% from January to May last year but slightly decreased to 41.3% from January to May this year.

Hwang Hansol, a research analyst at Economic Man Lab, said, "For housing types where it is difficult to accurately assess market prices and which carry relatively higher risks of jeonse fraud and 'empty shell' jeonse (detached/multi-family houses, multi-unit/row houses), the anxiety over not being able to recover jeonse deposits seems to be increasing demand for monthly rent."

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