'Malignant Unsold Units' Decline After 23 Months... Housing Supply Indicators Show 'Triple Increase'

by Oh Yukyo

Published 31 Jul.2025 06:00(KST)

Updated 31 Jul.2025 07:36(KST)

26,716 Unsold Units After Completion in June... Down 1.1% From Previous Month
Total Unsold Units Decrease for Fifth Consecutive Month... Downward Trend Since January Peak
Permits, Construction Starts, and Completions All Rise Compared to Previous Month... First Triple Increase This Year
Cumulative Supply in First Half Still Down Year-on-Year... Trend Reversal Yet to Be Seen

The volume of 'unsold units after completion', commonly referred to as 'malignant unsold units' in the housing market, has decreased for the first time in 23 months. Although the supply had been stagnant, there are now some weak but positive signals. The number of housing permits, construction starts, and completions all increased compared to the previous month, showing a 'triple increase' phenomenon.

National Unsold Housing Status (as of June). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

According to the 'June 2025 Housing Statistics' released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on July 31, the main indicators reflecting the supply cycle have all improved simultaneously. Nationwide, there were 28,018 housing permits, a 37.2% increase from the previous month's 20,424 units. During the same period, construction starts surged by 89.8% to 28,871 units. Completions (move-ins) also increased by 52.2% to 40,115 units.

This is the first time this year that all three major supply indicators have increased simultaneously compared to the previous month. However, when looking at the cumulative results for the first half of this year (January to June), permits (-7.6%), construction starts (-18.9%), and completions (-6.4%) have all decreased compared to the same period last year, so it is still too early to consider this a full-fledged trend reversal.

The burden of unsold units, which has been the biggest concern in the market, is gradually easing. As of the end of June, there were a total of 63,734 unsold units nationwide, a decrease of 4.4% from the previous month's 66,678 units. The number of unsold units peaked at 72,624 in January and has been declining for five consecutive months. In particular, the number of 'malignant unsold units', referring to unsold units after completion, also decreased by 1.1% to 26,716 units from the previous month's 27,013 units.

This is the first time in 23 months that unsold units after completion have decreased compared to the previous month. The number of malignant unsold units, which was 9,041 in July 2023, had continued to increase for 22 consecutive months until May this year. It is interpreted that this change was influenced by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) starting to purchase unsold units in provincial areas with a target of 3,000 units, as well as the full-scale operation of corporate restructuring (CR) REITs, which purchase unsold units and operate them as rental housing.