Seoul Apartment New Supply at 1 Unit per 300 People Ranks Last Nationwide

Over the past five years, Seoul has been identified as the area with the lowest housing supply relative to its population. It ranks the lowest among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide.

According to data from Real Estate R114 and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 12th, the housing supply in Seoul over the recent five years (2018?2022), based on general sales, was 32,559 units. Compared to its population (9,427,583 people), the supply ratio was only 0.35%. Following Seoul, Jeju-do, with a population of 677,090, supplied 3,759 units, resulting in a supply ratio of 0.56% relative to its population.

Excluding these two regions, six other areas fell below the national average (1.46%). These include four metropolitan cities?Gwangju (1%), Ulsan (1.09%), Busan (1.22%), and Daejeon (1.45%)?as well as Sejong Special Self-Governing City (1.24%) and Gyeongnam Province (1.35%). In contrast, local regions such as Jeolla Province, Gyeongbuk Province, Chungbuk Province, and Gangwon Province exceeded the average.

The fewer the supply, the higher the popularity of new apartments. Looking at the average subscription competition rates over five years by region, Sejong City topped the list with 92.7 to 1, followed by Seoul at 46.5 to 1. Additionally, metropolitan cities with low supply ratios such as Gwangju (31.9) and Busan (25.2) showed strong performance.

Notably, these regions have maintained high competition rates in subscriptions despite interest rate hikes and a sluggish real estate market.

In March, the Yeongdeungpo-gu ‘Yeongdeungpo Xi Dignity’ and Eunpyeong-gu’s Centreville Asterium Signature successfully closed first-priority subscriptions with competition rates of 198 to 1 and 11 to 1, respectively. In local areas, WiPark Mareuk Park in Gwangju recorded a 9.68 to 1 competition rate in the same month, while Lotte Castle Forest in Changwon, Gyeongnam, showed a high competition rate of 28 to 1 in January.

A real estate expert stated, “In regions where supply is insufficient compared to demand, high competition rates are observed in subscriptions despite recent pressures from high interest rates. Especially in Seoul, recent decreases in housing permits and the scarcity of land for new complexes have led to a concentration of demand, resulting in rapid contract closures.”

Meanwhile, new complex supplies are scheduled in areas where housing supply was low relative to demand.

First, in Seoul, Shinsegae Construction will proceed with the sale of Villiv Acent this month. This complex consists of 492 units ranging from 49 to 84 square meters, with buildings from five basement floors to 24 above-ground floors.

In Busan, DS General Construction is preparing to launch Eco Delta City Daeseong Berhill. This large complex comprises 16 buildings from one basement floor to 21 above-ground floors, totaling 1,120 units with sizes ranging from 84 to 106 square meters.