Last Year Construction Groundbreaking Area Up 4.8%... Turning to Increase After 3 Years

Last year, the building construction start area was confirmed to have increased by nearly 5% compared to the previous year.

According to the Korea Construction Industry Research Institute (KIC), the building construction start area in 2024 was recorded at 79.3 million square meters, a 4.8% increase from the previous year.

Last year, the residential building construction start area recorded 26.9 million square meters, up 6.8% from the previous year. The non-residential building construction start area also increased by 3.8% to 52.4 million square meters compared to the previous year. Specifically, industrial and other areas increased by 9.2% and 24.8%, respectively, while commercial and educational/social areas decreased by 10.1% and 16.8%, respectively. Residential and non-residential building construction start areas increased for the first time in three years after declining in 2022?2023.

Researcher Park Cheol-han of KIC stated, "Although building construction starts in 2024 increased compared to the previous year, they are analyzed to be only about 70?80% of the usual levels."

He added, "The average residential building construction start area from 2001 to 2023 is roughly 38 million square meters, but the 2024 start area is only about 70% of the usual level," and "The 2024 non-residential building construction start area is also about 80% of the usual level."

Looking only at the metropolitan area, the building construction start area increased by 4.2% from the previous year to 35.8 million square meters. Residential construction increased by 9.4% to 11.7 million square meters. During this period, Seoul decreased by 3.5%, but Gyeonggi-do increased by 0.1%, and Incheon increased by 64.6%.

The non-residential building construction start area in the metropolitan area increased by 1.9% to 24.1 million square meters compared to the previous year. Seoul decreased by 13.3%, while Gyeonggi-do and Incheon increased by 5.1% and 13.5%, respectively.

The building construction start area in provincial regions increased by 5.3% to 43.5 million square meters. Residential construction increased by 4.9% to 15.15 million square meters, and non-residential construction increased by 5.5% to 28.38 million square meters.

Researcher Park said, "Most of the areas where building construction starts decreased are regions that have experienced long-term declines for two to three years or more," adding, "The longer the decline in building construction starts, the more serious the construction market is considered in that area, and it is judged that the volume of ongoing construction projects is likely to decrease not only this year but also next year."