18,000 Households Scheduled for Sale in the Seoul Metropolitan Area in July... Highest Monthly Record This Year

The number of housing units scheduled for sale in the Seoul metropolitan area this month is expected to exceed 18,000. This is the highest monthly figure so far this year.

Apartments in downtown Seoul as seen from Namsan.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to real estate research firm Real Estate R114 on the 4th, the planned supply in the Seoul metropolitan area is 18,625 units, marking the highest monthly level this year. Gyeonggi Province has the largest share with 10,680 units. This is followed by ▲Seoul with 5,641 units ▲Incheon with 2,304 units. In Gyeonggi, 16 complexes are preparing for sales, while in Seoul, 9 complexes are getting ready.

Nationwide, 50 complexes with a total of 39,658 apartment units will be offered. This volume is three times the 13,331 units sold last month. Outside the metropolitan area, 21,033 units will be released. The largest numbers are in ▲Busan with 5,120 units ▲Gwangju with 4,345 units ▲Gangwon with 4,331 units. This is due to a growing perception that sales can no longer be postponed amid rising construction costs and financial burdens.

The housing market in the first half of this year showed a sluggish trend due to a combination of high interest rates, economic downturn, difficulties in financing, and risks of unsold units. The nationwide apartment sales volume in the first half was 74,597 units, the lowest since the first half of 2009 (68,776 units) right after the financial crisis.

Thanks to measures such as supply speed control and discounted sales, the volume of unsold units peaked in February this year and then decreased. With the government's deregulation easing and the real estate market atmosphere reviving mainly in the metropolitan area, the trend of releasing new units has been observed since June.

Yoon Ji-hae, chief researcher at Real Estate R114, explained, "As buying sentiment moves mainly in the metropolitan area, the subscription market is reviving," adding, "Since the market atmosphere partially recovered in the first half of this year, construction companies are expected to push for sales in the second half."