Seoul Housing Market Cap Surpasses 2300 Trillion Won... Capital Region Share Rises Above 67%

Housing Market Capitalization to GRDP Ratio: Sejong 4.5 Times, Seoul 4.2 Times
Housing Market Capitalization Growth Rate: Sejong (19.1%) and Jeju (10.9%) Highest

The market capitalization of housing in Seoul has surpassed 2,300 trillion won. The metropolitan area accounted for two-thirds of the nationwide housing market capitalization.

Yonhap News

On the 26th, the Bank of Korea announced these results at a joint forum with Statistics Korea, presenting the main compilation results of regional housing market capitalization from 2011 to 2023, newly published in January.

According to the Bank of Korea, the nationwide housing market capitalization as of the end of 2023 was estimated at 6,839 trillion won. Among them, Seoul had the largest share at 2,320 trillion won, followed by Gyeonggi (1,986 trillion won), Busan (389 trillion won), and Incheon (321 trillion won). The metropolitan area, including Seoul and Gyeonggi, accounted for 67.7% of the national total.

A significant portion of the housing market capitalization consisted of apartments. Except for Jeju, in all regions, the proportion of apartments within the housing market capitalization was higher than that of non-apartments such as detached houses, row houses, and multi-family houses. Lee Eun-song, head of the Bank of Korea’s National B/S Team, explained, "the nationwide apartment proportion was overwhelmingly high at 76.3%, with detached houses at 15.5% and row/multi-family houses at 8.2%."

The apartment proportion in the metropolitan area increased from 72.3% in 2015 to 78.2% in 2023, while the proportion of detached houses decreased from 16.3% to 11.6%, and row/multi-family houses from 11.4% to 10.2%. The ratio of housing market capitalization to regional gross domestic product (GRDP) by region was highest in Sejong at 4.5 times in 2023. Seoul followed with 4.2 times, and Daegu also showed a high level at 3.4 times. The national average was 2.8 times.

The housing market capitalization growth rate from 2015 to 2023 was highest in Sejong (19.1%) and Jeju (10.9%). Lee analyzed, "Sejong’s increase is due to the relocation of administrative agencies, and Jeju’s is influenced by the boom in tourism."

Lee emphasized, "Through these statistics, it is expected to more accurately estimate the wealth effect resulting from housing value increases," adding, "It can be used as an indicator to assess the degree of financial imbalance in regions by calculating ratios such as household loan amounts to regional housing market capitalization and housing market capitalization to regional total income."

Meanwhile, on the same day, Statistics Korea announced the completion of the development of a quarterly GRDP indicator that shows short-term regional economic fluctuations, and plans to publish the first quarter figures starting in June. The quarterly growth rate by city/province will be provided within 90 days after the end of the respective quarter. Compared to the previous practice of announcing provisional annual GRDP figures in December of the following year and final figures in December of the year after that, this significantly reduces the time lag. Statistics Korea expects this to enable rapid understanding of regional economic trends.

Im Dae-hwan, officer of the Income Statistics Division at Statistics Korea, said about the expected effects of quarterly GRDP, "It can be used as basic data for the rapid formulation, implementation, and evaluation of economic policies," adding, "It will serve as a key indicator for establishing balanced development policies that correspond to economic conditions."

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