Sharp Drop in Construction Starts and Permits... Seoul Apartment Starts Down 62% Year-on-Year in March

Apartment Construction Starts in Seoul Drop to 525 Units
Sharp Decline in Permits and Completions
Rental Market Sees Shift Toward Monthly Leases

Last month, Seoul saw a significant decline in housing permits, construction starts, and completions compared to the same period last year, indicating a deterioration in housing supply indicators. In contrast, the number of units released for sale surged, a trend largely attributed to the base effect following last year's market contraction.

According to the “March Housing Statistics” released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on April 30, the number of new housing construction starts in Seoul last month was 1,239 units, a decrease of 28.3% from 1,727 units a year earlier. The decline was particularly pronounced for apartments. Last month, 525 apartment units broke ground in Seoul, representing a 62.1% decrease from 1,387 units in the same month last year.

Yonhap News Agency

The number of housing permits in Seoul—a leading indicator of supply—also plummeted to 1,815 units, down 75.3% from 7,339 units in the same month last year. Of these, apartment permits totaled 1,005 units, an 85.5% decrease from 6,909 units a year earlier. The number of housing completions, which directly relates to actual move-ins, halved to 1,861 units, a 46.4% drop from 3,469 units in the same period last year. The number of completed apartments also fell, from 3,155 units in March 2025 to 1,207 units in March 2026, a 61.7% decrease.

In contrast, the number of units released for sale surged from zero last year to 5,097 units last month. This sharp increase is interpreted as a base effect stemming from the contraction of the pre-sale market in the first half of last year, which was affected by the impeachment crisis and early presidential election. On a cumulative basis from January to March, 6,923 units were supplied, up 531.9% from the same period last year.

In March 2026, the number of housing transactions in Seoul was 11,010 units, down 14.3% from 12,854 units in the same month last year. The decline was especially notable in the Gangnam area. Last month, the number of transactions in the 14 districts of northern Seoul was 5,657 units, a 5.4% decrease from 5,979 units in the same month last year. In the 11 districts of southern Seoul, transactions dropped 22.1% from 6,875 units to 5,353 units. In the four core Gangnam districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa, and Gangdong), only 1,866 units changed hands, a 41.8% decrease from 3,238 units in March 2025.

In the rental market, there was a noticeable shift from lump-sum deposit leases (jeonse) to monthly rental contracts. Last month, the total number of rental transactions (jeonse and monthly rent) in Seoul reached 87,773, a 16.8% increase from the same period last year. Of these, jeonse contracts totaled 25,637, a 9% decrease year-on-year, while monthly rental contracts soared to 62,136, up 32.3% from a year earlier.

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