Real Estate Market in a Deep Freeze
Except for Some Areas in Seoul
The number of newly opened real estate agent offices has fallen below 600 per month. This is the first time this has happened since relevant statistics began to be compiled in 2015.
According to the Korea Association of Realtors on October 8, a total of 584 new real estate agent offices opened nationwide in August. Since the association began tracking the opening and closing status of real estate agencies in 2015, this is the first time that the monthly number of new openings has dropped below 600.
In August, 824 real estate agent offices closed, and 85 suspended operations. The phenomenon of more closures and suspensions than new openings has continued for 31 consecutive months, from February 2023 through August 2025.
The downturn in the real estate brokerage industry began in earnest in the second half of 2022 (July to December), when housing prices started to decline and transaction volumes decreased. Since then, the sector has struggled to escape from this prolonged slump.
As of the end of last month, there were 110,445 real estate agent offices in operation, a decrease of 1,349 from January of this year (111,794 offices). Considering that there are about 550,000 licensed real estate agents in the country, this means only one out of every five license holders is actually running an office.
An official from the association explained, "Typically, both new openings and closures or suspensions are low during the summer. This is because the weather is hot and rainy, many people go on summer vacation, there are fewer people looking for houses, and not many people move, so there are not many contracts."
Meanwhile, the 36th real estate agent licensing exam will be held on October 25. The scope of work for licensed agents is broad, covering not only brokerage but also development and sales, lease management, asset management, and real estate consulting. There are no academic or career restrictions, and since there are no renewal requirements, it is considered a lifelong legal professional qualification.
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