Last Year, the Lowest Ever Number of First-Time Homebuyers in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

160,000 First-Time Home Buyers in the Seoul Metropolitan Area
Real Estate Data Provider Gyeongjemanlab Survey
"Impact of Interest Rate Hikes and Continued Housing Price Declines"

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Kim] Last year, the number of people who purchased a multi-unit building for the first time in their lives in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, recorded the lowest ever. This is attributed to weakened buying sentiment due to continued interest rate hikes and concerns over further declines in housing prices.

Source=Gyeongje Manlab

On the 18th, real estate information provider Economy Man Lab analyzed the court registry information plaza and found that in 2022, the number of first-time buyers of multi-unit buildings in the metropolitan area was 160,634. This is the lowest figure since related statistics began to be released in 2010 and represents a 46.9% decrease compared to 2021 (302,261 people).

A multi-unit building refers to apartments, villas, officetels, etc., where structurally separated parts within a single building can be independently used and are subject to separate ownership rights.

Last year, the number of first-time multi-unit building buyers in Seoul was 38,726, with 95,671 in Gyeonggi and 26,237 in Incheon.

The number of first-time multi-unit building buyers aged 30 and under in the metropolitan area was also 87,928, marking the lowest ever since related statistics began. Compared to 2021 (176,794 people), when 20s and 30s continued to chase purchases due to the rapid rise in apartment prices, this is a 50.3% decrease.

Last year, the number of first-time multi-unit building buyers aged 30 and under was 21,286 in Seoul, 51,801 in Gyeonggi, and 14,841 in Incheon. The buying trend sharply declined due to the continued interest rate hikes and housing price drops since last year, leading to a rapid decrease in purchases of multi-unit buildings.

Hwang Hansol, a research fellow at Economy Man Lab, said, "First-time homebuyers tend to rely more on loans, so they are greatly affected by interest rate hikes, and combined with the downward trend in housing prices, the volume of first-time multi-unit building transactions appears to have significantly decreased."

Meanwhile, the nationwide number of first-time multi-unit building buyers and first-time homebuyers aged 30 and under recorded the lowest ever at 301,510 and 164,610, respectively.