Seoul's Housing Sales Sentiment Sees Sharpest Drop Nationwide in February... Jeonse Sentiment Dips Slightly [Real Estate AtoZ]

Last month, housing purchase sentiment in Seoul experienced the largest decline among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide. In January, it had reached its highest level in seven months, but saw a sharp reversal within just one month. In contrast, sentiment in the rental (jeonse) market remained largely unchanged, clearly highlighting the temperature gap between the sales and rental markets.

According to the "February Real Estate Market Consumer Sentiment Index" released by the Korea Land and Housing Institute on March 17, the nationwide housing sales market consumer sentiment index stood at 112.3, down 9.8 points from the previous month's 122.1.

Seoul Jamsil real estate agency scene. Photo by The Asia Business Daily

The consumer sentiment index quantifies how many people feel that "housing prices will rise in the future" or that "there are many buyers in the market." The Korea Land and Housing Institute compiles this index monthly by conducting telephone surveys with 2,338 real estate agencies and 6,680 households across 152 cities, counties, and districts nationwide. A score above 100 means that more people perceive housing prices to be rising or transactions to be increasing. A score above 115 indicates an uptrend phase, between 95 and 115 represents a stable phase, and below 95 is classified as a downturn phase.

The nationwide sales sentiment index maintained an uptrend for five consecutive months, staying above 115 from September 2025 (117.5) to January 2026 (122.1). However, in February, it dropped to 112.3, immediately turning into a stable phase.

The contraction in sentiment was most pronounced in Seoul. The Seoul index, which had risen to 138.2 in January, fell by 16.9 points to 121.3 in February. Although it remains above the 115 threshold, this was the largest decline among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide. In January, the index had recorded its highest value in seven months since June 2025 (150.3), but within just one month, it underwent a significant adjustment.

Gyeonggi Province also saw its index fall by 11.5 points from 124.1 to 112.6, while Incheon declined by 10.7 points from 114.9 to 104.2. Consequently, the overall score for the greater Seoul area (capital region) fell by 13.1 points to 114.4, ending the previous uptrend. Other regions such as Sejong (124.7→117.8), North Gyeongsang (117.0→102.9), and South Chungcheong (111.8→98.4) also experienced significant declines.

Comparison of the Nationwide Housing Market Consumer Sentiment Index for January and February 2026. Within one month, the yellow shades indicating a rising phase significantly decreased, while the blue shades representing a stable phase expanded nationwide. Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements

Among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide, only three—Ulsan (125.0→126.4), Gangwon (105.9→106.4), and South Jeolla (104.7→105.1)—saw an increase in sales sentiment. Of these, Ulsan has maintained a score above 115, sustaining an uptrend for 13 consecutive months since February 2025 (113.2). The busy operations of shipyards and petrochemical plants are believed to be supporting genuine demand from people looking to buy homes.

Unlike the sales market, the rental (jeonse) market saw little change. The jeonse sentiment index for Seoul fell only slightly, from 116.0 to 114.4, a decrease of 1.6 points. While sales sentiment plunged by 16.9 points, rental sentiment barely moved. This indicates that the number of people looking to buy homes decreased, but the number of those seeking rentals remained high.

The nationwide housing rental market consumer sentiment index also decreased by 0.9 points, from 110.7 in January to 109.8 in February, and the capital region index dropped by 0.9 points, from 113.3 to 112.4.

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