National Apartment Sales in Q1 This Year Increase by 55% Compared to Last Year

Published 20 Apr.2022 11:30(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] The nationwide apartment supply volume in the first quarter of this year increased by more than 55% compared to the same period last year. However, as the presidential election approaches, a wait-and-see attitude has deepened, resulting in a decline in both the number of applicants and the average competition rate.

According to a survey conducted on quarterly supply volumes by real estate information provider Economy Man Lab using Real Estate R114 data on the 20th, the supply volume in the first quarter of this year was 79,019 households. This is an increase of 28,174 households (55.4%) compared to 50,845 households in the first quarter of last year.

About half of the general supply volume in the first quarter was supplied in Gyeonggi-do. A total of 36,901 households were supplied in Gyeonggi-do, accounting for 47% of the total volume. Next, Incheon City recorded 8,078 households, accounting for 10% of the total volume, followed by Chungnam and Chungbuk with 5,757 and 5,744 households respectively, each accounting for about 7% of the total. In Seoul, 894 households were generally supplied in the first quarter of this year, slightly increasing compared to 860 households in the same period last year.

Contrary to the increase in supply volume, the number of applicants decreased. In the first quarter of this year, 411,223 people applied, recording an average competition rate of 12.28 to 1. This is more than 100,000 fewer than the 558,572 applicants (average competition rate of 19.98 to 1) in the first quarter of last year.

Although the supply volume in the sales market decreased significantly last month due to the presidential election watchfulness, expectations for deregulation after the election have revived the sales market, raising hopes for the second quarter supply volume. The nationwide general apartment supply volume scheduled for the second quarter of this year is 64,953 households. In particular, Seoul is expected to supply 1,203 households, an increase of 309 households compared to the first quarter.

Oh Dae-yeol, head of the research team at Economy Man Lab, said, "With the presidential election variable gone, the supply volumes that were postponed are now being released again," adding, "Demanders preparing for supply need to carefully examine the scale of the complex, accessibility, and funding plans."