'Unprecedented Event' Spring Moving Season... Real Estate Closures and Suspensions Surpass Openings (Comprehensive)

1,117 Real Estate Agents Opened in January This Year
Down 36% Compared to a Year Ago
1,304 Agents on Leave or Closed... Increasing for 3 Consecutive Years
"Unusual for January"
Decrease in Brokerage Due to Real Estate Market Slump

Last month, for the first time ever, the number of real estate agents who took a break or closed their businesses surpassed the number of newly opened real estate agents. This is analyzed to be due to a sharp decline in new openings and an increase in breaks and closures caused by decreased brokerage demand amid a transaction freeze.

According to the Korea Association of Realtors on the 21st, 1,117 real estate agents opened businesses nationwide in January this year. This is the lowest number recorded for January since the association began compiling statistics in 2015. The figure peaked at 2,550 in January 2018, then dropped below 2,000 the following year, and further plummeted by 36% from 1,993 in 2022 to 1,275 in 2023.

The decline in the total number of newly opened real estate agents was driven by the metropolitan area. Gyeonggi Province saw the largest decrease, dropping from 355 in January last year to 305 this January, a decrease of 50. Seoul also fell from 299 to 257, a decrease of 42 during the same period. Incheon decreased by 31, from 99 to 68. Busan (88→97) and Daegu (53→59) saw slight increases.

On the other hand, the number of real estate agents who took a break or closed their businesses increased by 59 from 1,245 in January last year to 1,304 this January. This figure has been rising for three consecutive years, recording 970 in 2021 and 1,059 in 2022. In particular, the increase in breaks was significant. The number of agents on break, which was in the 100s in January 2019-2020, dropped to 70 in 2021 and 85 in 2022, but surged to 130 and 127 in January last year and this year, respectively.

As a result, the number of real estate agents taking breaks or closing their businesses surpassed the number of new openings. This is the first time this has happened in January. Typically, January is the peak season for real estate agent openings, as brokerage demand increases just before the spring moving season, and new licensees who passed the real estate agent exam at the end of the year complete their training and start their businesses. Except for 2015 and last year, January has always recorded the highest number of openings in past cases.

The industry analyzes that the significant decrease in brokerage demand is largely due to the real estate market downturn, which has led to fewer housing transactions than usual. With brokerage fees decreasing, and the burden of rent and labor costs increasing, agents are postponing openings or deciding to take breaks or close their businesses. Last year, nationwide real estate transactions totaled 1,006,019, down 8.8% from 1,102,854 the previous year, marking the lowest level since the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport began disclosing actual transaction prices in 2006.

A representative from the Korea Association of Realtors said, "It is unusual for the number of real estate agent openings in January to be lower than the number of breaks and closures," adding, "As the housing market freezes, real estate agents facing livelihood crises are either closing their businesses or choosing to take breaks instead of closing in order to at least receive key money."