Last Year, 230,000 Private Housing Units Started Construction... 160,000 Less Than the 10-Year Average

Below Average for Three Consecutive Years

Last year, the volume of private housing starts was confirmed to be the second lowest on record. With private apartment sales expected to sharply decline this year, the volume of private housing starts last year was also 160,000 units less than the average of the past 10 years.

According to Real Today’s aggregation based on the housing construction performance statistics released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of private housing starts last year (excluding rental units) was 235,171 units as of the 16th. This is 160,000 units less compared to the 10-year average volume of starts (397,044 units) from 2015 to last year.

Looking at the private housing start performance over the past 10 years, the numbers gradually decreased from 624,977 units in 2015, 564,003 units in 2016, and 425,061 units in 2017, down to 347,479 units in 2019. However, it rebounded to 468,952 units in 2021 before declining again after 2022.

In 2022, the volume remained in the 300,000 range at 318,680 units, but in 2023 it dropped to 204,794 units, marking the lowest level since the Ministry began compiling statistics in 2011.

Although last year saw an increase compared to 2023, it still fell short of the average. The number of private housing starts in January this year was only 5,819 units.

The decrease in housing starts will lead to a shortage of move-in units 3 to 4 years later. This is because housing supply proceeds in the order of permits, starts, sales, and move-ins. Since private sales account for the majority of the overall housing supply market, the reduction in volume affects the housing sales market.

View of Yeouido apartments from the 63 Building observatory. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@