As of May, 1,937 Foreign Landlords in Korea
Foreigners Make Up Only 0.66% of All Landlords, but Numbers Are Rising
47% Own Property in Seoul, Followed by Gyeonggi and Incheon
The number of foreign landlords is steadily increasing. As the number of foreigners owning real estate in Korea rises, there has also been a noticeable uptick in foreign property owners renting out their homes.
According to the Court Registration Information Plaza on June 9, the number of foreign landlords who were granted a fixed date for their real estate leases nationwide as of last month stood at 1,937. This represents an 18.7% increase compared to 1,632 during the same period last year. A fixed date is the date on which a court or local government office certifies the signing date of a housing lease contract. Because tenants typically obtain a fixed date immediately after signing a lease, this figure serves as an indicator of monthly and yearly lease transactions.
Out of a total of 290,034 landlords?including Korean nationals, foreigners, corporations, and non-corporate entities?the proportion of foreign landlords is just 0.66%, a very low figure. However, the number of foreign landlords has been steadily rising. The figure increased from 1,384 in January to 1,949 in February, marking the highest number so far this year. Although it dropped to 1,643 in April, it rose again last month, approaching 2,000.
Most foreign landlords are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area. Of the 1,937 foreign landlords last month, the largest number?908 (46.9%)?owned real estate in Seoul. This was followed by Gyeonggi Province with 587 (30.3%), Incheon with 139 (7.2%), Chungnam with 51 (2.6%), and Busan with 42 (2.2%).
The increase in foreign landlords is closely related to the growing number of foreigners purchasing homes in Korea. As of December last year, foreigners owned 100,216 homes in Korea, an increase of 5,158 homes (5.4%) compared to six months earlier. The largest category of foreign-owned homes was apartments and other multi-family housing, totaling 91,518 units. Among foreign homeowners, 93.4% owned just one home, while 5.3% (5,182 people) owned two homes. There were 640 people who owned three homes, 209 who owned four homes, and 461 who owned five or more homes.
By nationality, Chinese nationals owned the largest number of foreign-owned homes at 56,301 (56.2%). The proportion of Chinese ownership has continued to rise, increasing from 55.0% in June last year. Following Chinese nationals, Americans owned 22,031 homes (22.0%), and Canadians owned 6,315 homes (6.3%).
Kwon Youngsun, team leader at Shinhan Bank's Real Estate Investment Advisory Center, said, "Just as we invest in U.S. stocks, foreigners' interest in the Korean real estate market continues." He added, "When real estate is purchased for investment purposes, it must be rented out, so the number of foreign landlords could continue to increase in the future." He further commented, "As long as the process follows established procedures and legal frameworks, there seems to be little reason for concern, even if the landlord is a foreigner."
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