"Last Year’s Housing Transactions Hit Record High... Increased Villa Sales in Non-Regulated Areas"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Last year, the volume of housing sales transactions reached an all-time high. Sales increased in non-metropolitan areas to avoid regulations, and villa transactions rose due to expectations for public redevelopment. The monthly average housing sales volume, which reached 100,000 transactions, appears to have slowed down this year.

According to KB Management Research Institute on the 21st, the total number of housing sales transactions last year was 1.28 million, marking the highest since the survey began in 2006. This represents a 34% increase compared to the previous year. In particular, housing sales transactions in December last year recorded 140,281, showing a significant increase since September.

The volume of housing sales transactions increased in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas compared to the previous year. The metropolitan area saw an 18.2% increase compared to the recent one-year average, while the non-metropolitan area increased by 50.2%. KB Management Research Institute stated, "As housing prices continued to rise, transaction volumes in non-regulated areas increased significantly," and "by type, non-apartment transactions increased due to the influence of public redevelopment, among others."

By region, Gyeongbuk and Gyeongnam saw increases of 89% and 85%, respectively.

With the nationwide increase in housing sales transactions, unsold apartments continued to decline. As of December last year, unsold apartments numbered 19,005 units. This is the first time the number has fallen below 20,000 units since June 2002.

The metropolitan area accounted for 2,131 units, and the non-metropolitan area for 16,874 units. In particular, unsold units in Chungnam and the Gyeongsang region, which had the highest numbers, decreased significantly by approximately 1,964 units and 1,072 units, respectively.

Meanwhile, unlike last year, housing sales transactions seem to be slowing down this year. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, housing sales transactions in January this year were 90,679, a 35.4% decrease compared to the previous month. Compared to January last year (101,334 transactions), it also decreased by 10.5%. In Seoul, January transactions were 12,275, down 24.2% from the previous month.