3,563 Unsold Houses in the Seoul Metropolitan Area in May
Seoul's Unsold Houses Surge from 47 to 688 This Year
Impact of Interest Rate Hikes and Loan Regulations
[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Taemin] As the housing market continues to slump, unsold homes are rapidly increasing even in the Seoul metropolitan area. Due to difficulties in securing funds caused by interest rate hikes and loan regulations, coupled with the spread of negative outlooks on the future housing market, demand is being shunned by buyers.
According to housing statistics released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 30th, as of the end of May, unsold homes in the metropolitan area totaled 3,563 units, an increase of 19.9% (593 units) compared to the previous month. Unsold homes in the metropolitan area have been steadily rising this year. In January, the number was only 1,325 units, but it has continued to increase steadily every month since then.
In particular, the number of unsold homes has significantly increased in Seoul and Gyeonggi areas. The number of unsold homes in Seoul rose 13.6 times (641 units) from 47 units earlier this year to 688 units. According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza, about half of these, 322 units, were in Gangbuk-gu. For the first time this year, Mapo-gu recorded 245 unsold homes, followed by Dongdaemun-gu (69 units) and Gangdong-gu (33 units). By area, units under 40㎡ (exclusive area) accounted for 280 units, 40?60㎡ for 226 units, and 60?85㎡ for 182 units, showing a tendency toward relatively less popular small-sized units.
Unsold homes are also surging in the Gyeonggi area. At the beginning of this year, Gyeonggi Province had 855 units, but last month the number increased threefold to 2,449 units. By region, Anseong-si recorded the highest number with 1,004 units. This is due to a large number of new apartments being developed, such as Anseong Gondo Central County Edupark and e-Pyeonhansesang Anseong Granluce, resulting in a flood of unsold homes. This was followed by Pyeongtaek-si (288 units), Icheon-si (230 units), Yongin-si (222 units), Dongducheon-si (214 units), Hwaseong-si (206 units), and Goyang-si (113 units).
The cooling of the subscription frenzy is due to the reduced financial capacity of buyers. Since the implementation of the borrower-specific Debt Service Ratio (DSR) regulation from this year, it has become difficult to secure funds through interim and final payment loans. In addition, accumulated fatigue over high housing prices and multiple interest rate hikes have increased interest burdens.
There is also a forecast that unsold homes nationwide may continue to increase for the time being. According to the Apartment Sales Outlook Index released by the Housing Industry Research Institute for June, the unsold home outlook index for June is 105.3, up 10.8 points from 94.5 in April. This index is based on a survey conducted among members of the Korea Housing Association and the Korea Housing Builders Association regarding the outlook for unsold homes and is quantified into an index.
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